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UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA 


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AMERICAN 

FOUNDRY   PRACTICE 


TREATING  OF 


LOAM,  DRY  SAND  AND  GREEN  SAND  MOULDING, 

AND  CONTAINING 

A  PRACTICAL  TREATISE  UPON  THE    MANAGEMENT  OF 
CUPOLAS  AND  THE  MELTING  OF  IRON. 


THOMAS    D.    WEST, 

,DER  AND  FOUNDRY  FOREMAN  *   MEMBER 
OP  MECHANICAL  ENGINEERS,  AND  CIVIL  ENGINEERS*   CLUB  OF  CLEVELAND,  O. 


PRACTICAL  IRON  MOULDER  AND  FOUNDRY  FOREMAN  *  MEMBER  OF  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


FULLY  ILLUSTRATED. 

^  >\ 

ITYJJ 


NEW  YORK: 

JOHN   WILEY   &    SONS, 
15   ASTOR  PLACE. 

1885. 


COPYRIGHT. 

1882, 
BT  THOMAS  D.  WEST. 


PREFACE. 


IK  offering  this  book  to  the  public,  the  author  would  state 
that  he  has  tried  to  select  such  matter  as  would  illustrate 
the  varied  workings  of  difficult  castings,  and  to  offer  prob- 
lems for  thought  and  study  to  PRACTICAL  MOULDERS  ;  in 
which  he  has  endeavored  to  make  everything  PLAIK  and 
PRACTICAL,  so  that  the  beginner  or  apprentice  can  under- 
stand it  as  well  as  the  practical  moulder.  The  illustrations 
shown  are  from  drawings  made  by  the  author,  and  embrace 
almost  all  the  more  difficult  kinds  of  heavy  castings.  They 
are  chosen  because  they  involve  -some  of  the  highest  ele- 
ments of  the  art  of  iron  moulding.  Pattern  makers  and 
foundry  managers,  in  considering  the  best  method  of  mak- 
ing difficult  castings,  can  refer  to  these  pages,  where  it  is 
hoped  they  will  find  assistance  of  such  a  nature  as  will  in- 
crease their  profits. 

It  may  be  here  remarked,  that  there  are  but  few  trades 
which  do  not  employ  more  or  less  machinery  in  their  manipu- 
lation, while  the  moulder  frequently  finds  himself  limited  to 
sweeps  and  a  few  blocks  of  wood.  Hence  he  especially 
requires  mechanical  skill  to  a  large  degree,  and  although 
there  may  be  some  appliances  used  to  lessen  labor,  yet  the 
skill  required  to  operate  them  enters  more  largely  into  this 
than  into  most  trades. 

The  melting  of  iron  is  a  subject  which  will  be  found 
quite  condensed  and  simple  in  its  treatment,  although  it  is 

iii 


IV  PREFACE. 

of  great  importance ;  and  from  the  ample  illustrated  work- 
ings of  the  foundry  cupola  and  its  management,  it  is  be- 
lieved many  valuable  and  practical  ideas  will  be  derived. 

All  the  matter  here  collected  is  the  result  of  many  years' 
experience  and  practice,  not  only  as  a  workingman  alone, 
but  also  as  a  manager  of  foundries.  The  author,  having 
traveled  over  and  been  employed  in  different  sections  of  this 
country,  has  had  an  opportunity  of  obtaining  a  varied  prac- 
tical knowledge  of  the  AMERICAN  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE. 

The  ORIGINAL  articles  here  submitted  have,  to  some  ex- 
tent, during  the  last  two  years,  appeared  in  the  American 
Machinist;  but  they  have  been  expanded,  and  in  some 
cases  rewritten  for  this  book,  in  hopes  that  the  minds  of 
practical  men  may  give  thought  to  the  subject,  and  that 
others  may  be  assisted  in  showing  that  the  moulder's  trade 
is  one  that  requires  something  higher  than  the  mere  mus- 
cular force  necessary  to  pound  sand. 

The  field  for  thought  and  study  in  foundry  practice  is 
very  large ;  and  if  the  author,  in  presenting  these  pages 
before  the  PRACTICAL  MACHINERY  MOULDERS  OF  AMERICA, 
has  benefited  a  class  in  whom  he  takes  pride  as  a  member 
and  co-worker,  he  will  feel  amply  repaid  for  his  labors. 

THOG.  D.  WEST. 
CLEVELAND,  September,  1882. 


CONTENTS. 


THE  MOULDER  AND  THE  FOUNDRY. 

PAGB. 

The  Moulder  and  His  Trade 1 

Learning  the  Moulder's  Trade,  .          ......  7 

Building  a  Foundry, 13 

GREEN  SAND  MOULDING. 

Moulding  and  Casting  Fly-wheels, 19 

Surface  and  Bottom  of  Green  Sand  Moulds,        ....  27 

Moulding  Large  and  Small  Pulleys, 30 

Finishing  Green  Sand  Moulds,     .                 40 

Moulding  Bevel  and  Spur  Wheels  in  Green  Sand  Without  a  Pattern,  45 

Improvement  in  Moulding  Gear  Wheels,  Pulleys,  Etc.,          .  50 

Venting  Green  Sand  Moulds,       .......  56 

Moulding  Kettles  with  a  Dry  Sand  Cope  and  Green  Sand  Bottom,  59 

Dropping  of  Green  Sand  Copes,       .        .         .        .        .        .  63 

Moulding  Kettles  in  Green  Sand  Without  a  Pattern,           .        .  67 

Moulding  Elbow  and  Branch  Pipes  Without  a  Pattern,           .  71 
Casting  Large  Pipes  in  Green  Sand,    ....                 .78 

Ramming  Up  the  Teeth  of  Gear  Wheels  in  Green  Sand,         .  75 

Making  and  Venting  Beds, 81 

Method  of  Making  a  Heavy  Green  Sand  Casting,    ...  90 


V  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Iron  and  Wooden  Flasks, .94 

Skimming  and  Flow-off  Gatos, 101 

Making  a  Green  Sand  Basin — Runners  and  Gates,  .  .  .  104 
Weighting  Down  Copes — Damp  Foundry  Floors,  .  .  .  Ill 
One  Hundred  Items  that  Appren  iices  Should  Know  and  Remember,  117 

LOAM  AND  DRY  SAND  MOULDING. 

Building  and  Firing  Large  Ovens 125 

Ovens  for  Drying  Small  Cores, 132 

Two  Ways  of  Moulding  Crooked  Pipes  in  Loam,       .        .  137 

Moulding  Large  Quarter-turn  Pipes  in  Loam,          .        .        .  144 

Moulding  Kettles  in  Loam, 149 

Casting  Anvil  Blocks, 154 

Sweeping  an  Octagonal  Loam  Mould, 159 

Building  or  Laying  Bricks  for  Loam  Moulds,  .  .  .  167 
Venting  Loam  and  Dry  Sand  Moulds,  ...  .  .172 

Moulding  Rolls  and  Making  Roll  Flasks,         .        .     •  .        .  176 

The  Surface  of  a  Loam  Mould, 184 

Sweeps  and  Spindles,       .        .         .        .         .         .         .        .  187 

Moulding  Gear  Wheels  in  Dry  Sand  or  with  Cores,    .         .         .  193 

Making  Return,  Elbow,  Branch,  and  T-pipe  Core  Arbors,        .  198 

Making  Hay  Rope  Loam  Cores,  .......  204 

Blacking  and  Sleeking  Loam  and  Dry  Sand  Moulds,  .  .  208 
Iron  Casings  for  Moulding  Pots  in  Loam,  .  .  .  .215 

Drying  Moulds, 220 

Chaplets  and  Their  Use, 227 

Leaving  Risers  Open  or  Closed  on  Loam  or  Dry  Sand  Moulds,  234 

Reservoirs  and  Ladles  for  Polling  Heavy  Castings,  .         .         .  237 

Scabbing  of  Green  Sand,  Dry  Sand,  and  Loam  Moulds,           .  245 


CONTENTS.  Til 
MANIPULATION  OF  IRON  CASTINGS. 

PAGE. 

Contraction  and  Cracking  of  Castings,         ....  248 

Feeding  and  Shrinkage  of  Melted  Iron,            ....  260 

Burning  or  Mending  Heavy  Castings,           ....  267 

Chilled  Cast-iron  Castings, 272 

Making  Chilled  Castings  Smooth, 276 

Splitting  Pulleys  and  Other  Castings,      ...  .279 

Straightening  Crooked  Castings,          .         .         .                  .         .  282 

Cast  Iron, 289 

Mixing  and  Melting  Iron,    ........  293 

Iron  Mixtures, 296 

Odd  Ways  of  Melting  Iron, 301 

The  Tuyeres  and  Lining  of  a  Cupola, 307 

Preparing  Cupolas,       .........  314 

Fuel  and  Charging  Iron,           ....                  .  322 

Tapping  Out  and  Stopping  Up  Cupolas,      .....  331 

Air  Furnaces, 336 

NOTES  AND  RECEIPTS. 

Blacking  Mixtures, 343 

Loam  Mixtures, 347 

Dry  Sand  Mixtures, 353 

Core  Sand  Mixtures, 358 

Gre?n  Sand  Facings,                                , 363 

Cleaning  Castings, ...  367 

Weights  of  Castings,           ........  370 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  MOULDER  AND  THE  FOUNDRY. 


THE  MOULDER  AND  HIS  TRADE. 

ASK  any  mechanic  what  trade  he  thinks  requires  the 
greatest  amount  of  mechanical  ability  and  he  will  say  his  is 
the  one,  and  perhaps  go  on  to  state  some  of  the  fine  points 
connected  with  it.  If  the  moulder  should  be  asked  this 
question,  he  would  probably  get  excited  over  it,  on  account 
of  the  low  estimation  in  which  his  trade  is  held. 

The  moulder's  trade  may  not  be  the  most  mechanical  of 
all  trades,  but  it  is  decidedly  entitled  to  more  respect  and 
consideration  than  is  usually  given  it.  Other  tradesmen 
must  remember  that  to  be  a  good  moulder  requires  more 
than  the  muscular  force  necessary  for  ramming  sand — an 
idea  that  has  been  expressed  time  and  again.  The  machinist 
with  a  clean  Monday  suit  on  and  a  pair  of  calipers  in  his 
hand  ;  the  pattern-maker  with  his  plug  hat  looking  over 
his  drawings  ;  the  blacksmith  making  the  sparks  fly ;  all 
have  a  dignified  appearance.  The  position  of  a  moulder 
lying  on  his  back  under  a  cope,  or  on  his  belly  ramming  under 
some  pattern,  is  not  suggestive  of  dignity.  The  general 
impression  is  that  the  nicer  the  clothes,  the  more  mechanical 
is  the  trade. 

The  moulder  with  his  black  face  and  clothes,  and  sur- 
rounded by  the  usual  appliances  of  a  foundry,  such  as 

1 


2  THE   MOULDER   AND   THE   FOUNDRY. 

bricks,  loam,  mud,  ashes,  straw,  horse  manure,  blacking,  sand 
and  clay  wash,  might  have  a  romantic,  but  is  far  from  having 
a  dignified  appearance.  Should  he  attempt  to  put  on 
dignity,  when  he  is  prostrated  or  laid  out  for  repairs  on  some 
sand  heap,  caused  by  carrying  hot  iron  or  doing  a  heavy 
feeding  job,  it  would  be  all  knocked  out  of  him.  Like  a 
man  picking  up  hot  iron,  he  would  be  forced  to  lay  it  down 
again. 

It  is  this  want  of  dignity  about  a  foundry  that  lowers  the 
trade  in  the  estimation  of  men,  and  the  moulder  will  have 
to  look  for  other  things  than  dignity.  Almost  all  men  can 
remember,  when  they  were  children,  of  making  mud  pies  and 
playing  in  the  sand,  and  sometimes  the  pies  would  be  put 
into  their  mother's  oven  to  be  baked.  This  might  be  called 
dry  sand  moulding  ;  but  when  the  dusty  sand  was  fired  into 
the  child's  face,  if  he  had  any  pluck,  he  would  not  sit  right 
down  and  pick  the  sand  out  of  his  eyes  and  say  or  do  noth- 
ing to  retaliate.  So,  should  this  article  offend  or  put  sand 
into  the  eyes  of  any  other  tradesman,  he  must  not  think  that 
it  was  done  to  blind  him,  but  rather  to  wake  him  up  ;  and 
if  he  feels  like  fighting  there  will  be  no  objection  to  his  doing 
so. 

How  sublime  and  grand  is  the  structure  of  the  steam 
engine — the  mighty  power  of  machinery!  Yet  useful  and 
ornamental  castings  used  in  all  shapes  and  forms  are  made 
from  pig  iron  and  old  scrap  iron,  and  formed  in  sand.  For 
all  this,  all  thought  is  of  the  work  of  the  pattern-maker  or 
the  machinist.  It  is  not  till  some  scabs  or  sand-holes  in  the 
casting  are  noticed  that  the  moulder  is  mentioned.  Then 
what  abuse  the  poor  moulder  does  get! 

All  moulders  are  not  thorough-paced;  if  they  were,  there 
would  not  be  half  the  trouble  there  is  in  getting  good  cast- 
ings. There  is  no  trade  that  requires  more  long-headed, 
cautious  and  mechanical  operations  than  that  of  the  moulder. 


THE   MOULDER   AND   HIS   TRADE.  3 

Why  is  it  that  all  the  castings  made  in  a  foundry  cannot  be 
good  and  perfect  like  the  day's  work  of  a  machine,  black- 
smith, or  boiler  shop  ?  Is  it  because  the  men  and  boys  that 
learn  moulding  are  such  as  are  rejected  or  not  allowed  to 
learn  other  trades  on  account  of  being  blockheads  ?  If  it  were 
possible  that  such  was  the  case,  it  would  then  be  reasonable 
to  say  that  should  any  other  set  of  tradesmen  have  learned 
moulding,  bad  castings  would  never  be  seen.  The  moulder's 
trade  is  learned  by  boys  and  men,  the  same  as  any  other 
trade,  and  foundry  bosses  are  as  good  judges  of  character  as 
any  other  class  of  foremen.  Few  foundries  would  hire  a  boy 
that  wore  kid  gloves  and  a  collar  that  holds  his  head  up. 
Such  boys  are  generally  selected  from  sound  and  staunch 
material.  Taking  it  for  granted  that  as  good  and  as  smart 
boys  learn  moulding  as  learn  other  trades,  is  it  to  be  taken 
for  granted  that  they  fail  as  a  class  when  they  become  men  ? 
The  more  we  think  of  the  matter,  the  more  it  looks  as  if  it 
was  the  want  of  a  knowledge  of  moulding  more  than  the 
lack  of  mechanical  ability  that  causes  all  this  trouble  of  bad 
casting. 

This  article  is  not  written  to  hide  the  moulder's  failings, 
but  to  get  at  the  truth,  no  matter  where  or  whom  it  strikes. 
The  moulder  should  admit  that,  when  he  loses  a  casting 
which  he  has  had  full  control  of,  it  is  no  more  nor  less  than 
his  ignorance  or  carelessness  that  caused  the  loss.  The 
proof  is  that  when  he  makes  it  the  second  time  he  gets  a 
good  one.  The  loss  of  a  casting  does  not  imply  that  the 
moulder  is  ignorant  or  is  not  a  mechanic,  since  castings 
are  often  lost  from  some  little,  insignificant  cause.  There 
are  a  thousand-and-one  ways  of  losing  castings;  and  the 
moulder,  when  making  the  second  casting,  is  nearly  as 
liable  to  have  that  bad,  from  some  other  car.se;  and  the 
moulder  does  not  live  who  never  lost  a  casting. 

Sometimes  the  excuses  for  bad  castings  are  laughable. 


4  THE   MOULDER   AND   THE   FOUNDRY. 

The  story  is  told  of  a  moulder  who  made  four  pieces — everj 
one  bad — and,  when  the  foreman  asked  him  what  was  the 
matter,  he  said  that  one  dropped,  one  flopped,  one  run  out, 
and  that  one  was  a  "  waster."  The  boss  told  him  to  make 
one  more,  as  he  would  like  to  know  what  would  be  the  mat- 
ter with  the  fifth  one.  Ask  any  moulder  if  the  bad  casting 
which  he  has  made  cannot  be  made  good,  and  why  it  is  bad, 
and  he  will  answer  the  first  question  in  the  affirmative,  and 
have  some  excuse,  instead  of  an  answer,  to  the  last  one. 

"When  a  moulder  loses  a  casting,  it  worries  him.  There  is 
no  trade  in  which  a  man's  peace  of  mind  is  kept  so  unsettled 
as  in  the  moulder's.  He  is  always  in  a  state  of  expectancy. 
Look  at  a  moulder  when  he  is  taking  his  casting  out  of  the 
bricks  or  sand,  and  with  a  hammer  in  his  hand,  he  will  look 
for  something  that  he  does  not  want  to  find.  Should  anything 
be  seen  that  would  make  the  casting  bad,  how  soon  the  hon- 
est man's  look  of  fear  changes  to  despondency,  or  he  shows 
his  character  by  throwing  the  hammer  down  and  stalking 
around  the  shop  with  a  look  of  indifference,  as  much  as  to 
say  that  he  was  not  responsible  ;  or  he  will  seek  consolation 
by  laying  the  blame  on  some  poor  helper  core-maker,  or 
on  some  moulder  that  worked  with  him.  It  takes  a  moulder 
that  is  a  sweet  talker  to  get  out  of  the  blame  for  a  bad  cast- 
ing, when  he  knows  there  was  no  one  to  blame  but  himself. 
Losing  castings  with  one  moulder  is  a  frequent  occurrence, 
while  another  will  be  noted  for  success.  This  success  may 
continue  a  long  time,  on  the  strength  of  which  he  will  get 
careless,  and  some  day,  to  his  sorrow,  he  has  a  bad  casting. 
He  makes  it  over  again,  guarding  with  the  greatest  of  care 
the  conditions  that  caused  the  first  one  to  be  bad,  and  his 
mind  being  riveted  to  this  point,  he  neglects  others,  and  the 
second  casting  goes  the  way  of  the  first.  If  now  he  has  not  a 
well-balanced  mind  he  may  lose  almost  every  casting  he  tries 
to  make,  and  it  is  not  till  he  makes  an  effort  to  overcome  his 


THE   MOULDER   AND   HIS  TRADE.  5 

nervousness  and  lack  of  confidence,  that  he  will  be  able  to 
make  a  reliable  mould. 

A  casting  made  by  a  half-drunken  moulder  would  be  more 
likely  to  be  good  than  one  made  by  a  nervous  moulder. 

Any  moulder  when  starting  on  a  large  responsible  mould 
should  have  a  clear  head,  so  as  to  master  the  job  with  his 
brains  before  he  puts  his  muscular  forces  to  work.  This  will 
give  him  confidence,  which  along  with  a  good  mechanical 
judgment  is  a  very  essential  feature  in  making  good  castings. 
About  the  best  proof  that  moulding  is  a  trade  that  requires  the 
best  of  physical  and  mental  power,  is  to  notice  the  moulder 
when  his  castings  come  out  all  right,  and  likewise  when  they 
are  bad.  In  looking  at  a  bad  casting,  the  question  is  always 
asked,  What  made  it  bad  ?  Such  a  question  implies  that  the 
cause  is  not  apparent,  but  that  it  needs  investigation. 

The  blacksmith  when  forging  his  iron  into  any  shape  with 
his  hammer,  can,  the  same  as  the  machinist  or  pattern-maker, 
see  the  effect  of  every  movement  he  makes  as  being  a  move 
towards  the  end.  Should  any  part  not  be  done  right,  it  will 
be  visible  to  the  eye,  and  the  little  mistakes  can  be  remedied 
without  waiting  till  the  whole  job  is  completed. 

Moulding  is  like  to  a  man  fishing,  he  cannot  see  what  he 
will  get  until  it  is  out  of  the  water;  and  he  may  spend  all  day 
working  hard  to  catch  something,  which  when  brought  to 
light  will  be  a  worthless  minnow. 

The  ramming  of  sand  is  what  any  one  having  the  neces- 
sary strength  can  do  ;  but  the  light  or  heavy  ramming  re- 
quired on  the  different  sections  of  a  mould,  demands  some- 
thing more  than  strength  and  stupidness.  The  motion  of  the 
rammer  is  visible,  the  result  of  the  ramming  is  invisi- 
ble. 

A  moulder  may  work  from  one  day  up  to  one  or  two  months 
on  a  job,  and  every  night  when  he  goes  home  he  feels  anx- 
ious to  know  the  result  of  his  day's  work.  There  are  often 


b  THE   MOULDER   AND   THE   FOUNDRY. 

times  when  a  moulder  would  forfeit  his  day's  wages  if  he  could 
only  see  or  know  the  result. 

Often  things  happen  to  castings  that  will  puzzle  the  best 
of  moulders  to  fathom,  and  which,  when  found  out,  involve 
some  chemical  or  scientific  principle  that  professors  are  very 
proud  in  talking  about. 


LEARXLNG  THE  MOULDER'S  TRADE. 


LEARNING  THE  MOULDER'S  TRADE. 


a  young  man  starts  out  to  learn  the  moulder's 
trade,  about  the  first  thing  he  does  is  to  get  a  trowel,  stick 
it  in  his  pocket,  and  call  himself  a  moulder.  He  comes  to 
his  work  finely  dressed,  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth,  and  his 
talk  is  about  anything  rather  than  what  he  is  doing.  This 
is  not  the  case  with  all  beginners,  but  it  is  true  of  the 
majority  of  them.  Once  in  a  while  a  young  man  who  has 
more  sense  and  less  conceit,  instead  of  calling  himself  a 
moulder  takes  every  opportunity  to  make  himself  one.  He 
is  careful  not  to  give  offense  by  speaking  slightingly  of 
work  he  knows  nothing  of,  and  at  once  makes  friends  of 
those  whose  skill  he  may  profit  by.  He  may  wear  good 
clothes,  and  perhaps  smoke  a  cigar,  but  there  are  different 
ways  of  doing  such  things.  Instead  of  spending  his  even- 
ings around  saloons,  he  may  be  found  a  member  of  some 
debating  society,  discussing  the  elements  of  pig  iron,  or  he 
is  home  making  a  drawing  representing  the  way  some 
moulder  is  making  a  difficult  casting,  which  drawing  he 
will  preserve  for  future  reference.  When  a  moulder  loses 
a  casting  he  will  note  the  cause  and  profit  thereby,  and 
when  he  loses  a  casting  himself,  he  will  welcome  and  profit 
by  any  advice  or  assistance  in  order  that  the  next  one  may 
be  good.  At  his  work  he  will  be  diligent  and  careful,  and 
always  ready  to  give  a  "lift"  or  help  any  one  that  is 
in  trouble.  He  is  not  afraid  of  asking  questions,  and 
always  aims  to  make  the  second  casting  better  than  the 
first  one.  He  will  be  patient,  and  not  be  looking  for  the 


8  THE   MOULDER   AND   THE   FOUNDRY. 

foreman  to  give  him  work  that  he  is  not  capable  of  execut- 
ing. When  he  borrows  a  tool  it  is  sure  to  be  returned,  and 
his  own  tools  he  willingly  lends  and  keeps  them  clean  and  in 
place.  He  never  has  much  to  say,  and  attends  strictly  to 
his  own  business. 

These  qualifications  in  a  young  man  will  make  friends, 
without  which  his  progress  will  be  slow.  The  greater  part 
of  our  knowledge  is  obtained  from  others.  We  are  in- 
debted to  thousands  of  people  for  what  we  know  of  the 
moulder's  trade. 

Some  beginners  will  say  that  they  do  not  get  any  show  ; 
that  the  boss  is  giving  it  all  to  others.  It  is  hard  for 
an  outsider  to  pass  an  opinion  on  this.  Very  often  appren- 
tices overrate  their  ability,  thinking  they  are  capable  of 
taking  work  that  they  would  only  lose  if  given  them  to  do. 
It  is  a  great  failing  of  young  men,  and,  in  fact,  of  the 
human  race  generally,  to  think  they  can  do  things  they  see 
others  doing.  If  we  could  only  "  see  ourselves  as  others  see 
us,"  we  would,  in  many  cases,  be  more  contented  in  our 
situations. 

It  is  often  the  case  that  a  worthy  apprentice  is  not  ad- 
vanced as  he  should  be,  on  account  of  some  prejudice,  or, 
sometimes,  an  established  principle  of  keeping  the  Loy  down. 
A  young  man  should  find  out  the  character  of  the  establish- 
ment before  he  makes  an  agreement  to  learn  the  trade  there. 
A  shop  that  makes  a  specialty  of  two  or  three  different  kinds 
of  casting,  is  no  place  to  learn  the  moulder's  trade.  Try 
and  get  a  start  in  a  good  jobbing  or  steam  engine  foundry  ; 
such  shops  as  these  generally  have  all  the  science  of  the  art 
of  moulding  practiced  in  them,  and  in  such  shops,  should 
the  foreman  feel  inclined  to  keep  a  beginner  on  one  job  all 
the  time,  he  could  very  seldom  do  so.  Of  course  he  can 
keep  changing  you  from  one  inferior  job  to  another,  and 
should  you  see  all  the  apprentices  treated  in  a  similar  man- 


LEARNING   THE   MOULDER'S   TRADE.  9 

ner,  it  is  not  of  much  use  to  ask  to  be  advanced.  But, 
should  you  see  others  going  ahead,  (if  you  are  sure  the  fault 
is  not  yours)  in  a  polite  manner  ask  to  be  tried  on  better 
work.  Whether  the  answer  is  favorable  or  not,  continue 
on  with  your  work,  doing  the  best  you  can,  for,  if  the  fore- 
man will  not  reward  any  merit  that  you  may  possess,  you  will 
be  noticed  by  some  one,  sooner  or  later,  who  will  recommend 
and  advance  you. 

Under  any  circumstances,  faithfully  verve  your  time,  then 
leave  and  go  to  some  other  shop,  wherever  you  can  get  a 
job. 

You  may  find  quite  different  plans  for  making  work  prac- 
ticed there  ;  but,  with  a  good  mechanical  judgment,  you  will 
get  along  all  right.  The  first  day  in  a  new  shop  is  always 
the  worst.  I  have  seen  men,  who  have  worked  the  most  of 
their  lives  in  the  shop  where  they  served  their  time,  and  in 
which  they  had  the  leading  work,  and  were  reckoned  good 
mechanics,  start  in  a  strange  shop  and  be  so  nervous  and 
simple  in  their  actions  that  the  old  hands  would  question 
their  being  moulders. 

As  a  general  thing,  the  class  of  men  who  laugh  at  a 
moulder  in  a  strange  shop  are  the  narrow-minded  ones  who, 
having  had  experience  several  times  over  with  every  piece 
made,  have  forgotten  their  own  failures  in  working  up  to 
their  present  knowledge.  A  man  of  good  sense,  and  who  is 
a  thorough  mechanic,  will  not  be  guilty  of  such  actions. 
On  the  contrary  he  will  show  the  stranger  where  he  will  find 
the  flask  needed,  and  will  tell  him  if  there  has  been  any 
trouble  in  the  previous  moulding  of  the  job;  he  will  show 
him  where  there  are  gaggers  hidden,  and,  in  fact,  do  every- 
thing that  he  can  to  assist  him.  Should  he  have  any  idea 
of  opposition,  he  will  wait  until  the  stranger  has  got  a  fair 
run  of  the  shop's  tools  and  ways,  when  it  would  be  a  more 
manly  and  even  race  to  see  who  is  the  best  mechanic. 
1* 


10  THE   MOULDER  AND   THE   FOUNDRY. 

A  thorough  knowledge  of  the  moulder's  trade  cannot  be 
learned  in  any  one  shop,  nor  is  it  a  sign  that  a  moulder 
thoroughly  understands  his  trade  because  he  has  worked  in 
a  great  many  foundries.  He  can  see  how  things  are  done 
by  traveling,  but  the  class  of  work  that  would  advance  and 
instruct  him  is  hardly  ever  given  him  to  make.  Go  into 
any  foundry  and  ask  how  long  the  men  that  are  working  on 
good  jobs  have  been  there,  and  the  answer  will  generally  be, 
from  six  months  up  to  a  lifetime.  A  stranger  must  stay 
long  enough  in  a  shop  to  show  some  merit  before  a  practical 
foreman  will  trust  him  with  responsible  work. 

A  young  man  traveling  to  advance  himself  should,  when 
possible,  engage  only  in  the  best  shops  to  be  found,  and 
there  he  should  stay  at  least  for  one  year.  After  thus 
working  for  ten  years  in  as  many  different  shops,  he  can 
blame  no  one  but  himself  if  he  is  not  a  good,  practical  mould- 
er, able  to  make  almost  anything  in  the  branches  that  he 
has  practiced. 

Thorough,  first-class  moulders  are  very  scarce,  as  such 
men  must  be  capable  of  melting  their  own  iron,  and  making 
any  castings  that  come  along,  in  loam,  dry  sand,  or  green 
sand. 

It  is  very  seldom  that  the  three  branches  are  learned,  or 
practiced,  by  one  man,  one  reason  being  that  most  large 
shops  generally  have  work  enough  to  keep  a  constant  num- 
ber of  men  working  steadily  in  each  of  the  three  branches. 
Another  reason  is  that  it  is  a  little  too  much  for  most  men 
to  practically  master. 

A  man  may  be  good  on  green  sand,  and  perhaps  fair  on 
dry  sand  and  loam,  or  all  right  on  loam  and  dry  sand,  yet  in 
green  sand  not  amount  to  much. 

There  are  two  ways  of  learning  the  moulder's  trade  ;  one 
is  do  as  you  see  others  do,  and  the  other  is  to  know  the 
reason,  why  you  do  so.  Moulders  very  seldom  ask  them- 


LEARNING  THE  MOULDER'S  TRADE.          11 

selves:  Why  is  such  a  thing  done  in  order  to  have  the  cast- 
ing a  good  one  ?  They  are  told  it  is  to  be  done;  they  do  it, 
and  there  let  the  matter  end. 

There  is  a  principle  and  a  cause  involved  in  almost  every- 
thing that  is  done  to  make  castings  successfully,  and  he  is 
the  farthest  advanced  in  the  art  of  moulding  who  has  made 
them  the  study,  so  as  to  thoroughly  understand  the  cause 
and  effect  of  what  he  does. 

It  has  been  suggested  to  me  that  I  should  write  a  few 
articles  for  apprentices.  Webster  says  that  an  apprentice  is 
one  that  is  bound  to  another  to  learn  a  trade.  Some 
trades  may  be  learned  during  the  allotted  time  of  three 
or  four  years,  but  for  a  young  man  to  think  that  when  his 
apprenticeship  is  served  he  has  learned  the  moulder's  trade 
is  assuming  too  much.  A  moulder  is  an  apprentice  as  long 
as  he  lives,  as  there  is  not  a  day  that  passes  that  something 
cannot  be  learned.  Whenever  any  man  gets  to  thinking 
that  he  knows  it  all,  or  that  he  cannot  learn  any  more,  he 
should  stop  working.  He  will  never  be  a  success.  Writing 
to  give  information  to  a  beginner  may  sometimes  be  well 
enough,  but  the  beginner  must  first  see  some  bad  results  of 
something  that  he  has  done,  in  order  to  fully  understand  his 
trade. 

The  first  year  of  a  beginner's  time  is  always  more  or  less 
of  a  loss  to  his  employers.  You  nuiy  tell  him  what  to  do 
and  how  to  do  it,  but  he  must  have  practice  before,  as  a 
general  thing,  any  information  that  may  be  given  to  him  is 
fully  understood,  or  its  value  comprehended.  Articles  are 
often  written  for  apprentices,  when  the  author  ought  really 
to  admit  that  he  intended  them  more  for  what  might  be 
called  practical  men,  and  that  he  assumed  the  simpler  title 
to  cut  off  censure  and  criticism.  Such  authors  should  let 
their  writings  be  for  the  old  as  well  as  the  young,  for  there 
are  none  of  us  so  old  that  we  cannot  learn. 


12  THE   MOULDER  AND   THE   FOUNDRY. 

A  beginner  in  one  shop  could  very  often  give  some  valu- 
able information  to  an  old  experienced  hand  in  another 
shop,  and  as  for  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  or  manipula- 
tions of  the  moulder's  trade,  there  are  as  many  old  hands  as 
new  ones  that  require  to  understand  them  better. 


BUILDING   A   FOUNDRY.  13 


BUILDING  A  FOUNDRY. 

WHEN  a  man  is  about  to  construct  a  foundry,  he  cannot 
give  the  matter  too  close  attention.  Let  him  make  lines 
and  rub  them  out  again  until  he  gets  something  that  fills  his 
ideas ;  then  make  three  or  four  tracings,  and  submit  them 
to  as  many  different  practical  foundrymen,  with  the  request 
that  they  find  all  the  fault  with  them  they  possibly  can. 
Let  these  men  examine  the  drawings  with  great  care,  and 
present  their  opinions — especially  their  objections— in  writ- 
ing. Then,  with  a  mind  unprejudiced,  let  him  consider 
their  opinions,  and  adopt  whatever  is  good. 

The  idea  that  should  be  prominent  is  that  the  plan  of  a 
foundry  should  be  decided  upon  from  a  consideration  of  the 
particular  class  of  work  for  which  it  is  to  be  used,  and  other 
controlling  circumstances,  such  as  the  general  character  of 
the  land,  the  position  of  a  railroad,  river,  lakes,  streets, 
etc.,  etc. 

To  attempt  to  show  a  plan  for  the  construction  of  a 
foundry  that  should  be  of  anything  like  general  use  in 
building  would  be  foolish,  since  scarcely  any  two  foundries 
ought  to  be  built  alike.  The  fact  that  there  are  so  many 
unhandy  foundries  is  not  always  evidence  that  the  designer 
was  in  fault ;  since,  considering  the  location  of  other  build- 
ings, and  circumstances  over  which  he  had  no  control, 
he  may  have  done  the  best  that  could  have  been  done. 

There  is  one  thing,  however,  builders  or  designers  are 
greatly  to  be  blamed  for,  and  that  is  for  not  providing  for 
enlargement. 


14  THE   MOULDER   AND   THE   FOUNDRY. 

If  there  is  not  much  business  or  capital  to  start  with,  the 
small  shop,  having  only  one  cupola,  one  crane,  one  pit,  and 
one  oven,  is  not  the  building  that  should  be  made  on  paper. 
The  proprietor  or  designer  should  take  into  consideration 
his  available  ground-room,  and  then  make  a  drawing  or  plan 
as  if  he  were  going  to  build  the  largest  shop  that  could 
possibly  be  constructed  on  the  grounds.  If  there  is  room  for 
three  or  four  cupolas,  a  couple  of  air-furnaces,  five  or 
six  cranes,  a  number  of  different-sized  pits,  and  several  good 
ovens,  let  them  all  be  carefully  located  on  the  large  plan  or 
drawing.  When  the  drawing  is  completed,  let  him  consider 
what  portion  of  his  large  shop  would  be  the  best  and 
cheapest  for  him  to  construct,  with  the  capital  he  can  afford 
to  invest  in  his  enterprise  to  start  with.  Then,  when  his 
business  increases,  and  he  wants  another  crane,  cupola,  pit, 
or  oven,  he  will  only  have  to  look  at  his  original  drawings, 
and  there  are  places  for  them.  When  he  builds  his  shop 
larger,  the  builder  can  find  studdings,  bolts,  or  broken  brick- 
work to  securely  fasten  the  extension  to. 

It  is  not  intended  that  the  reader  shall  take  the  word 
"  extension  "  to  mean  the  usual  kind  of  extensions  that  are 
added  to  foundries,  such  as  "dog  houses,"  "pigeon  holes," 
etc.,  and  which,  wherever  seen  attached  to  the  main  shop, 
are  sure  signs  that  extension  was  never  thought  of,  or 
provided  for,  when  the  main  building  was  first  planned. 

There  is  no  intention  in  this  to  show  how  to  build  fine, 
large  shops,  but  rather  to  show  to  the  man  of  small  capital 
that  before  he  starts  to  lay  out  his  money  he  may,  to  a  great 
extent,  by  careful  study  and  management,  make  his  little 
enterprise  a  running  success.  Many  a  man  has  failed  for 
want  of  judgment  in  the  beginning. 

There  are  two  things  that  are  connected  with  every  enter- 
prise. One  is  the  advantage  and  the  other  the  disadvantage. 
When  a  man  does  not  see  loth,  it  is  evidence  that  he  has 


BUILDING    A    FOUNDRY.  15 

not  deeply  investigated  the  subject.  A  man  who  takes 
every  element  and  business  point  separately,  and  thoroughly 
dissects  them,  not  only  can  know  what  is  best  for  him  to  do, 
but  will  be  inspired  with  such  confidence  and  energy  that 
the  word  "  failure"  would  have  to  be  printed  in  larger  type 
than  is  yet  used  for  him  to  see  it. 

In  building  a  foundry,  the  shop  should  be  built  high. 
The  medium  height  for  shops  that  do  crane-work  is  about 
twenty  feet.  This  measurement  is  from  the  floor  to  the 
large  girders,  or  beams,  that  the  top  of  the  crane  is  held  by. 
In  fact,  any  foundry  should  be  built  high,  so  as  to  give 
plenty  of  space  for  the  gas,  smoke,  and  steam  (which  is 
always  generated  at  casting  time)  to  rise  up  over  the  men's 
heads.  To  carry  hot  iron  through  a  dense  fog  of  gas, 
smoke,  and  steam  is  a  duty  that  is  not  only  unpleasant,  but 
has  been  the  means  of  many  workmen  getting  badly  burned. 

The  next  point,  and  one  of  great  importance,  is  to  have 
the  shop  constructed  so  that  plenty  of  light  will  be  admitted 
from  the  roof,  as  well  as  from  the  sides.  A  dark  foundry 
is  not  only  disagreeable  to  work  in,  but  is  the  cause  of  many 
rough  and  poor  castings.  It  is  also  a  great  drawback  in 
getting  out  work  fast. 

A  foundry  that  is  built  for  large,  heavy  work,  cannot  be 
too  strong.  The  doors,  or  openings,  through  which  the 
large  castings  are  delivered,  should  not  be  less  than  fourteen 
feet  wide  and  ten  feet  high.  It  is  best  to  have  the  doors 
hung  by  weights,  so  they  will  slide  up  and  down.  Doors 
that  open  out  or  in,  or  that  run  backward  and  forward 
on  sheaves,  are  always  more  or  less  in  the  way.  Doors,  when 
it  is  possible,  should  be  placed  in  a  part  of  the  shop  so  that 
when  opened  the  dust  cannot  be  blown  on  the  moulder 
or  his  mould,  as  it  is  not  only  disagreeable  but  it  hinders 
him  from  doing  his  work. 

Cupolas  should  be  built  in  that  part  of  the  shop  in  which 


1C  THE   MOULDER    AND   THE   FOUNDRY. 

the  large  doors  arc  situated,  as  generally  this  part  of  a 
shop  is  only  used  for  a  road  or  gangway.  Placing  doors  and 
cupolas  near  together  utilizes  room,  as  the  room  for  several 
feet  around  a  cupola'is  not  used  for  moulding.  This  plan 
also  keeps  the  dirt  and  dust  from  the  doors  and  cupola 
together,  and  the  moulding  room,  destroyed  for  one,  will 
answer  the  purpose  of  the  other. 

Loam  and  dry  sand  moulding  should  be  kept  in  a  part 
of  the  shop  distinct  and  away  from  the  green  sand  floors 
or  moulding  room,  as  the  dirt  and  mess  that  pieces  of  brick, 
mud,  straw,  cinders,  etc.,  make  are  very  disagreeable,  and  a 
hindrance  to  the  green  sand  moulder.  The  best  part  cf  the 
shop  for  loam  and  dry  sand  work  is  at  one  end,  and  near  the 
ovens. 

The  ovens  should  be  located  in  the  part  of  the  shop  where 
there  is  not  much  traveling  done,  either  by  cranes  and  cart- 
age, or  foot  travel ;  also  where  the  railway  tracks  that  the 
oven  carriages  run  in  and  out  on,  will  take  up  the  least 
valuable  room. 

Large  and  small  pits  for  casting,  or  ramming  up  moulds 
in,  should  be  as  handy  and  as  near  as  possible  to  the  loam- 
work. 

When  air  furnaces  are  required,  they  should  be  located  as 
near  as  they  can  be  to  the  loam-work,  and  where  there  will 
be  nothing  in  the  way  of  delivering  heavy  or  large  scrap 
iron  to  charge  them  up  with.  They  should  be  built  up 
enough  above  the  level  of  the  foundry  floor  so  that  the  tap- 
ping hole  will  be  from  three  to  four  feet  above  the  floor,  in 
order  to  admit  the  pouring  of  moulds  direct  from  the  fur- 
nace, or  to  have  the  liquid  iron  first  run  into  a  large  basin 
or  ladle,  from  which  it  is  admitted  into  the  mould. 

Every  well-regulated  foundry  should  have  good  facilities 
for  cleaning  castings,  which,  when  possible,  should  be 
cleaned  in  an  adjoining  room,  so  that  the  moulders  will  not 


BUILDING   A   FOUKDRY.  17 

be  hindered  from  their  work  by  waiting  foj»  a  crane,  look- 
ing out  for  flying  iron  drippings,  and  giving  orders  for 
hoisting  and  lowering  the  crane,  that  cannot  be  heard  on 
account  of  the  noise. 

A  narrow  or  wide  track  can  be  laid  between  the  casting 
and  cleaning  shops,  and  as  soon  as  the  heavy  castings  are 
hoisted  out  of  their  moulds,  they  can  be  loaded  on  a  car  and 
run  into  the  cleaning  department,  in  which  there  should  be 
a  crane  for  handling  them.  In  the  cleaning  room  there  can 
be  tumbling-barrels  and  vitriol-tubs  for  the  cleaning  of  small 
castings. 

Shops  that  do  heavy  and  light  work  should  have  the  light 
work  done  in  parts  of  the  shop  entirely  separated  from  the 
heavy  floors,  for  the  reason  that  grades  of  sand  better  adapt- 
ed for  each  class  of  work  can  then  be  used,  and  the  work 
done  to  pay  better.  The  portion  of  the  building  to  be  used 
for  the  moulding  of  heavy  castings  should  be  constructed 
with  a  view  to  strength,  while  the  portion  for  the  light  cast- 
ings can  be  constructed  more  cheaply. 

In  selecting  ground  to  build  on,  there  should  be  three  or 
four  wells  or  holes  dug  to  see  if  it  is  subject  to  dampness  or 
water.  Should  there  be  water  found  at  the  depth  of  six  to 
eight  feet,  the  position  should  be  rejected — that  is,  if  the 
foundry  is  to  be  constructed  for  a  heavy  line  of  casting  that 
will  require  bedding  in  the  floor,  or  should  pits  be  required. 

When  planning  a  shop,  there  should  be  plenty  of  time 
taken  before  it  is  let  pass  into  the  builder's  hand  for  con- 
struction. Hasty  planning  is  likely  to  be  sooner  or  later  re- 
gretted. 


GREEN  SAND  MOULDING 


MOULDING  AND  CASTING  FLY-WHEELS. 

THE  engravings  herewith  shown  represent  different  plans 
of  sweeping  and  moulding  fly-wheels.  The  lower  cut  is  a 
wheel  that  had  a  full  pattern  for  the  arms  and  hub,  the  rim 
being  swept  out.  For  forming  the  cope  part  of  the  rim 
there  were  wooden  segments,  R,  used.  A  straight  sweep  which 
formed  the  joint,  also  struck  or  marked  on  the  joint  a  true 
circle  to  set  the  segments  by.  The  reasons  for  using  the 
wooden  segments  was  that  the  wheel  was  quite  a  heavy  one, 
and  if  the  moulder  did  not  gagger  it  well  the  cope  would  be 
likely  to  draw  down. 

When  gaggers  are  set  on  the  sand-bed  or  mound,  they 
will  generally  show  their  prints,  so  as  to  require  knocking 
back,  which,  when  there  is  a  large  cope  surface,  or  a  large 
numbers  of  gaggers,  requires  considerable  time  and  labor. 
Besides  this,  it  is  not  always  a  safe  plan  to  knock  back 
gaggers,  as  it  will  generally  loosen  them,  thereby  causing 
trouble. 

Some  moulders  ram  up  large  copes  without  marking  the 
mould  with  them,  while  others  make  their  mould  look  as  if 
they  intended  to  use  the  hills  and  hollows  for  a  guide  to 
close  the  cope  on  by,  instead  of  shakes  or  pins. 

19 


20  GREEN   SAND    MOULDING. 

In  starting  to  mould  this  wheel,  a  good  coke  or  cinder  bed 
is  made,  the  spindle  seat  set,  and  sweep,  B,  attached.  As 
this  was  a  half-wheel,  the  half-hub  and  three-arm  pattern 
was  bedded  in  true  and  level,  using  for  a  guide  the  faces  of 
the  sweep.  After  the  arms  and  half-hub  were  bedded  in, 
the  outside  or  rim  was  rammed  up,  after  what  some  might 
think  an  odd  plan.  Instead  of  ramming  the  rim,  or  outside, 
up,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  surface  to  ram  up  the  cope 
on  of  all  common  sand,  which  has  to  be  shoveled  out  when 
the  cope  is  lifted  off,  in  order  to  ram  it  up  again  to  form 
the  sides  and  bottom  of  the  rim,  the  following  plan  was 
adopted.  The  adoption  of  this  plan  not  only  saved  the 
extra  work  of  ramming  up  a  large  hole  twice,  but  also  gave 
a  more  solid  mould  than  could  be  formed  where  there  is  only 
the  sweep  to  work  with. 

In  first  starting  to  ram  up  this  rim  surface,  the  sweep  is 
set  to  the  right  position,  and  common  sand  is  rammed  up 
solid  within  about  one  inch  of  the  bottom  face  of  the 
sweep.  This  bed  is  then  well  vented  with  a  large  wire, 
after  which  the  vent-holes  arc  stopped  up  on  the  sur- 
face, to  prevent  loose  sand  from  filling  them  up.  Facing 
sand  is  now  shoveled  on  up  to  the  height  of  about  4", 
projecting  out  2"  on  each  side  over  the  width  of  the 
rim,  on  the  outside  of  which  common  sand  is  shoveled. 
The  sweep  having  been  raised  up,  this  sand  is  made 
level  all  around,  after  which  this  course  is  rammed  the 
same  as  a  moulder  would  ram  any  course  of  sand  for  a 
heavy  casting.  The  sweep  is  again  raised  up,  and  another 
course  of  facing  and  common  sand  shoveled  around  it, 
the  rim  being  all  facing  sand,  with  the  common  sand 
outside  for  a  backing.  This  is  repeated  until  the  hole  is 
rammed  up  high  enough  for  a  straight  sweep,  which  is 
now  screwed  to  the  piece  of  boiler  plate  P,  for  sweeping 
off  the  joints. 


MOULDING    AND    CASTING    FLY    WHEELS. 


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MOULDING   FLY-WHEELS. 


Z'2  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

After  the  joints  are  made  and  the  cope  rammed  up  and 
lifted  off,  the  rim  sweep  is  set  back  again  and  the  rim  of 
the  wheel  is  then  swept  as  follows  : 

The  sand  is  first  shoveled  out  within  one  inch  of  each  side 
of  the  rim  and  within  about  two  inches  of  the  bottom.  (This 
sand  being  all  facing  is  wheeled  to  the  facing  boxes  and  used 
again  for  another  wheel,  or  for  any  other  heavy  class  of 
work.)  The  sweep  is  now  lowered  inch  by  inch  until  the 
rim  is  swept  out  as  wanted.  In  order  to  properly  divide 
the  wheel  for  a  half  one,  a  long  straight  edge  is  used,  having 
a  half  circle  the  size  of  the  spindle  cut  into  it,  which  being 
placed  against  the  spindle,  a  half -wheel  is  then  marked  off, 
and  wooden  blocks  the  shape  of  the  rim,  having  prints  for 
shaped  cores  like  F,  F,  are  then  placed  on  the  bed  and  the 
ends  of  the  rim  rammed  up.  The  wooden  arms,  end-blocks, 
and  half -hub  pattern  are  now  drawn,  and  the  whole  mould  is 
sleeked  and  finished  up. 

The  castings  are  poured  by  gates  underneath  the  rim,  as 
shown. 

The  second,  or  middle  cut  shows  another  plan  of  sweep- 
ing up  fly-wheels.  The  common  plan  of  covering  over  large 
fly-wheel  rims  is  by  using  segments  of  cores,  as  shown  at  W; 
or  sometimes  loam  rings  or  plates  cast  with  prickers  on 
them,  and  then  filled  and  swept  off  with  loam,  are  used. 
When  the  oven  is  too  narrow  to  dry  these  covering  rings  or 
plates,  they  are  cast  in  two  half-circles,  so  as  to  be  admitted 
into  the  oven.  The  plan  here  shown  is  to  cover  the  rim 
with  green  sand  as  it  is  being  rammed  up,  which  is  done  as 
follows  : 

The  level  bed,  I7",  is  first  made  and  then  the  segment 
ring  rim  pattern,  D,  which  is  attached  to  an  arm  as  shown, 
is  set  on  the  bed.  After  the  cores  for  forming  the 
arms  and  hub  (as  shown  on  the  opposite  side)  are  set ; 
the  rest  of  the  inside  of  the  wheel  is  swept  up.  The 


MOULDING  AND    CASTING    FLY-WHEELS.  23 

arm  that  is  attached  to  the  segment  rim,  shown  at  F  on 
the  plan,  is  then  taken  off,  the  segment  rim  is  set  back, 
and  the  outside  and  top  of  the  rim  is  rammed 
up,  and  the  segment  pattern  having  a  slight  draft  to 
it,  is,  when  ready,  drawn  out  around  endways.  The 
moulder  can  now  look  into  the  rim  mould,  to  see 
that  everything  is  all  right.  After  this  replace  the 
pattern  or  segment,  inserting  one  end  into  the  end  of  the 
mould  2"  or  3",  and  ram  up  and  finish  another  segment. 
Repeat  this  operation  until  the  whole  rim  is  rammed 
up. 

In  ramming  up  the  last  segment,  the  moulder  may  ask 
how  the  pattern  is  got  out.  This  is  done  by  having  a 
covering  core  to  close  up  the  last  segment,  or  by  having 
a  cast-iron  flask  as  shown  at  A,  one  end  of  which  is  rammed 
up,  and  then  the  pattern  is  moved  back  after  lifting  off  the 
flask.  When  replaced  the  other  end  is  rammed.  The  whole 
flask  could  be  rammed  up  at  once  if  there  was  another  piece 
of  segment  pattern  used.  For  rodding  over  the  top  of  the 
rim,  which  must  be  done  in  a  reliable  manner,  there  are 
cast-iron  frames  used,  as  shown  at  X.  After  these  frames 
are  well  bedded  on,  and  about  4"  or  5"  of  sand  rammed  over 
them,  there  are  some  pigs  bedded  on  to  hold  it  down,  as 
shown  at  H,  the  pigs  being  put  on  before  the  pattern  is 
drawn. 

This  segment  pattern  could  be  improved  and  made  to  draw 
out  endways  easier  by  having  it  cut  like  two  wedges,  as  shown 
atJK 

For  the  benefit  of  moulders  that  may  be  afraid  to  try  the 
plan,  I  would  say  that  I  am  acquainted  with  one  foundry 
where  nearly  all  wheels  are  made  in  this  way,  with  good 
success. 

The  upper  cut  shows  the  process  of  moulding  fly-wheels 
having  wrought  iron  arms  ;  also  for  forming  cast-iron  arms 


24  GBEEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

with  cores.  Having  a  full  pattern  for  the  arms  and  hub  ; 
and  fly-wheels  cast  one-half  at  a  time.  In  moulding  wheels 
having  wrought  iron  arms,  it  is  generally  known  that  the 
rim  is  cast  separately  and  first,  and  that  the  hub  is  cast  after 
the  rim  is  cold,  or  has  shrunk  about  all  it  will  shrink.  Should 
a  wheel  having  wrought  iron  arms  have  the  hub  and  rim 
cast  at  the  same  time,  there  would  not  only  be  the  difference 
of  the  shrinkage  of  the  rim  and  hub  to  contend  with,  but 
also  the  expansion  of  the  wrought-iron  arms,  for  as  soon  as 
the  mould  is  poured,  the  arms  will  commence  to  expand.  In 
a  short  time  the  rim  and  hub  will  commence  to  contract. 
The  rim  being  much  larger  than  the  hub,  its  contraction 
will  be  several  times  greater,  and  with  the  expansion,  or  non- 
contraction  of  the  arms,  the  inexperienced  moulder  will  be 
able  to  see  what  the  result  would  be.  If  he  does  not  think  of 
it  at  the  time  he  will  find  the  next  morning  the  rim  cracked 
or  broken. 

For  wheels  with  hubs  over  12"  diameter,  the  arms  should 
be  made  with  a  taper  on  the  ends  that  are  cast  into  the  hub, 
as  shown  at  S.  This  taper  can  be  swaged  on  by  the 
blacksmith,  or  turned  on  by  the  machinist.  For  large 
wheels  having  a  hub  over  24"  diameter,  it  is  better 
to  have  the  taper  turned,  as  they  will  then  be  sure  to 
have  a  true  smooth  taper,  which  the  hub  when  it 
contracts  will  have  a  better  chance  to  pull  in  or  away 
from. 

For  very  large  hubs  it  is  best  to  have  key  cores  set  in  at 
the  end  of  the  arms,  as  shown  at  JV,  as  they  can  be  made 
to  answer  two  purposes ;  the  first  being,  that  should  the 
moulder  not  feel  safe  as  regards  the  contraction  of  the  hub 
freeing  itself  from  the  arms,  the  key  cores  can  be  dug  out, 
and  iron  keys  driven  in  to  force  the  arms  outward  ;  this 
being  done  while  the  casting  is  yet  red  hot.  When  the 
casting  is  cold,  should  the  machinist  find  that  the  arms  are 


MOULDING   AND.  CASTING   FLY-WHEELS.  25 

loose,  he  can  drive  in  permanent  keys  to  hold  the  hub  firm 
and  stiff.  This  class  of  hubs  should  always  be  poured  with 
iron  not  too  hot,  and  the  moulding  of  them  should  be  done 
with  the  greatest  of  caution. 

Before  the  hubs  are  cast,  or  the  center  core  set,  the  rim 
should  be  tested  with  a  pair  of  trammels,  or  with  a  sweep 
attached  to  the  spindle,  to  see  if  the  wheel  has  contracted 
evenly  all  around.  I  have  seen  wheels  drawn  out  of  true  so 
much,  that  in  setting  the  center  core  in  the  hub,  it  had  to 
be  set  over  £''  out  of  the  center,  in  order  that  the  hole  could 
be  bored  true  with  the  rim. 

When  this  class  of  wheels  are  moulded  without  having  a 
full  pattern  to  work  with,  the  rim  can  be  swept  out,  or 
formed  with  a  segment,  and  the  projections  E  E  can 
be  formed  in  cores  ;  but  for  moulding  the  hub  it  is  better  to 
have  a  full  pattern  to  work  with. 

At  M  M,  is  shown  a  plan  for  making  cores  to  form  cast- 
iron  arms.  The  wooden  arms  shown  are  for  the  purpose  of 
making  or  moulding  wheels  that  are  covered  entirely  with  a 
cope,  having  the  rim  swept  out  as  described  and  illustrated 
by  the  lower  cut. 

Very  often  large  wheels  are  cast  in  halves,  having  chipping 
or  planing  pieces  cast  on,  so  as  to  allow  them  to  be  fitted 
together.  Without  experience  in  making  such  wheels,  it  is 
often  found  that  when  it  comes  to  putting  them  together 
they  will  meet  at  the  hub  leaving  the  rim  open  as  shown 
at  T.  Chipping  off  the  hub  to  bring  the  rim  together  will 
often  make  the  wheel  out  of  round,  to  avoid  which  the  rim 
should  be  moulded  so  as  to  project  from  \"  to  f "  beyond  the 
face  of  the  hub. 

V  V  shows  the  general  plan  for  coring  and  casting  half 
fly-wheels.      Sometimes  for  heavy  wheels  there  are  lugs  cast 
on  the  inside  of  the  rim,  so   that  bolts  can  be  made  in 
connection  with  keyed  irons. 
2 


26  GKEEN   SAND    MOULDING. 

Tn  moulding  fly-wheels  there  is  not  always  the  attention 
given  that  should  be  in  regard  to  having  the  faces  true  and 
the  rim  an  exact  circle.  A  good  moulder  will  take  as  much 
pride  in  trying  to  make  a  wheel  that  will  run  true  and  even, 
as  he  will  to  have  a  smooth  solid  casting. 


SURFACE   AKD   BOTTOM   OF   GREEK   SAKD    MOULDS.        2T 


SURFACE  AND  BOTTOM  OF  GREEN  SAND 
MOULDS. 

THERE  is  no  part  of  a  mould  that  requires  more  precau- 
tion and  judgment,  coupled  with  a  knowledge  of  thorough 
practice,  on  the  part  of  a  moulder,  to  insure  a  first-class 
casting,  then  ramming  the  surface  and  bottom  of  a  mould, 
and  there  is  no  other  part  of  a  mould  that  moulders  have 
so  many  different  ways  of  handling.  Take,  for  example, 
almost  any  pattern,  and  give  it  to  a  moulder  to  bed  it  in  the 
sand  ;  after  which  take  it  to  another  shop,  and  try  a  second 
moulder  (being  sure  that  he  did  not  know  how  the  first 
man  handled  it  in  moulding),  and  so  on  until  six  or  seven 
shops  have  been  visited,  and  you  need  not  be  surprised  that 
each  moulder,  who  considers  himself  a  good  workman,  has 
a  different  way  of  performing  his  work.  A  few  will  handle 
the  job  understanding  why  they  do  certain  things,  while  the 
rest  will  follow  a  series  of  details  which  has  been  simply  taught 
them.  The  latter  is  a  class  which  will  have  many  super- 
natural, profound,  and  flimsy  excuses  for  bad  work.  Moulders 
frequently  entertain  the  idea  that  the  heavier  the  casting, 
the  harder  should  be  the  surface  of  the  mould,  but  in  my 
practice  this  has  proven  erroneous.  There  are  light  large 
castings  made  which  require  the  surface  and  bottom  of  the 
mould  to  be  very  hard,  so  as  to  resist  destruction  threatened 
by  the  sudden  head  or  pressure  caused  by  fast  pouring  of 
the  molten  iron.  If  the  beds  of  some  solid  heavy  castings 
were  made  so  hard,  the  moulds  would  be  liable  to  be  blown 


28  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

all  to  pieces,  so  that  instead  of  the  solidity,  or  weight  of  a 
casting  being  a  rule  for  the  hardness  of  the  mould,  it  is 
better  to  consider  the  time  it  takes  to  have  a  head  or  press- 
ure on  the  surface  of  the  mould  during  the  process  of 
pouring.  It  is  very  easy  to  control  the  hardness  of  the  bed 
of  a  mould  that  can  be  formed  with  straight  edges,  but  the 
process  of  bedding  a  pattern  in  the  sand  by  ramming  the 
sand  under  it  is  more  difficult,  and  requires  more  time. 
Some  moulders  will  take  almost  any  pattern,  and  bed  it  in 
the  sand  by  digging  out  a  hole  and  shoveling  in  from  one  to 
two  feet  of  loose  sand.  They  then  take  the  pattern  and 
pound  it  down  into  the  soft  sand,  until  they  think  it  solid 
enough.  This  way  of  bedding  a  pattern  is  a  quick  but 
very  poor  one,  and  should  be  forbidden,  as  it  is  in  some 
shops  that  desire  to  insure  good  work.  This  way  of  bedding 
a  pattern  also  causes  the  bottom  and  surface  of  a  mould  to 
be  exactly  the  reverse  of  what  they  should  be,  for  the  reason 
that  rapping  down  the  pattern  makes  the  surface  of  the 
mould  hard,  leaving  the  sand  soft  under  it,  so  that  when 
the  iron  first  enters  the  mould  it  bubbles  and  scabs.  When 
a  heavier  pressure  of  molten  iron  comes  upon  the  mould,  it 
will  cause  the  soft  sand  below  to  give  way  more  in  the 
middle  than  at  the  outside  edges,  so  that  when  the  casting 
is  taken  from  the  sand  it  is  apt  to  'be  both  swollen  and 
scabbed.  In  moulding,  the  under  portion  of  a  bed  requires 
to  be  rammed  good  and  solid  ;  the  more  strain  to  be  resisted, 
or  the  heavier  the  casting,  the  more  solid  should  this  portion 
be  rammed.  If  the  bed  is  formed  with  straight  edges,  it 
can  be  rammed  solid  up  to  within  three-quarters  of  an  inch 
of  the  top,  then  well  vented.  After  this  the  surfacing  sand 
should  be  put  on,  and  finished  by  rapping  it  down  with  a 
straight  edge,  or  going  over  it  lightly  and  evenly  with  a 
butt  rammer.  This  surface  sand  should  be  soft,  so  that 
when  the  iron  enters  the  mould  it  will  remain  still,  and  not 


SURFACE   AND   BOTTOM   OF   GREEK   SAND   MOULDS.        29 

bubble  or  boil.  For  coped  moulds  that  have  a  large  surface 
at  the  bottom,  it  is  a  very  exceptional  case  that  requires  the 
surface  sand  to  be  any  harder  for  a  light  casting  than  for  a 
heavy  one.  Making  castings  by  rolling  the  pattern  over  in 
flasks,  to  form  the  bottom  part  of  a  mould,  does  not  require 
the  mechanical  skill  or  experience  required  to  bed  in  a  pat- 
tern, and  the  manipulations  are  easier  and  simpler  in  getting 
the  surface  and  bottom  part  of  a  mould  to  right  conditions 
by  rolling  over  and  then  bedding  in  ;  but  as  circumstances 
and  shop  customs  more  or  less  control  the  matter  of  rolling 
over  a  pattern  or  bedding  in,  men,  to  be  good  green  sand 
moulders,  should  be  just  as  able  to  successfully  make  a  good 
smooth  casting  by  bedding  in  as  by  rolling  over. 


30  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 


MOULDING   LARGE  AND  SMALL  PULLEYS. 


making  pulleys  of  various  sizes,  a  shop  should  be 
supplied  with  as  good  patterns  and  rigging  as  possible.  In 
making  small  pulleys,  the  work  he  can  do  in  a  day  depends 
more  upon  the  convenience  of  the  rigging  than  upon  the 
man.  In  moulding  large  pulleys  some  firms  have  full  pat- 
terns ;  but  for  a  special  size,  or  when  there  is  only  one  or  a 
few  to  make,  the  sweep  and  core-box  are  used  to  save  pattern- 
making.  For  very  large  pulleys  with  double  arms  these  are 
necessary. 

The  cut  on  page  35,  showing  sweeps,  brick-work,  and  half 
section  of  mould,  having  two  sets  of  arms  formed  with  dry 
sand  cores,  represents  different  modes  of  sweeping  or  mould- 
ing pulleys.  By  the  use  of  this  rigging,  pulleys  from  five  to 
twenty  feet  diameter,  and  of  any  width  of  face  required,  can 
be  moulded.  For  forming  the  outside  face,  there  are  two  ways 
shown.  One  is  by  using  the  sweep,  JT,  and  the  other  by 
using  a  segment,  the  elevation  of  which,  and  a  hook  for 
drawing  the  pattern,  are  shown  at  B.  With  this  segment 
the  outside  can  be  moulded  either  in  green  or  dry  sand.  To 
mould  with  dry  sand  there  would  be  required  an  iron  bot- 
tom ring  and  cheeks,  or  side  flasks.  After  it  is  all  rammed, 
hoist  the  outside  off  by  handles  on  the  bottom  ring,  or  plate. 
The  mould  can  then  be  blacked  and  run  into  the  oven  to 
dry.  The  sweep  can  be  used  either  for  green  or  dry 
sand,  as  well  as  for  loam.  If  the  mould  is  swept  up  with 
loam,  or  dry  sand,  it  is  better  if  possible  to  hoist  off,  and 
should  the  oven  not  be  large  enough,  it  could  be  drying  on 


MOULDING    LARGE   AND   SMALL   PULLEYS.  31 

the  floor  while  the  inside  of  the  pulley  is  being  moulded.  0 
shows  the  stakes  driven  down  alongside  of  each  handle  to 
guide  the  outside  off  and  on.  The  four  plates,  one  of  which  is 
shown  under  the  lifting-ring,  are  to  insure  a  good  bearing  for 
the  outside  to  rest  on,  should  the  sand  joint  be  disturbed  by 
walking  on,  or  otherwise,  when  sweeping  the  inside. 

When  sweeping  with  green  sand,  a  hole  is  dug  in  the  floor 
to  about  the  depth  of  face  required,  and  a  wooden  curb,  or  a 
piece  of  boiler  iron,  is  used  as  a  support  for  ramming  the 
sand  against,  so  as  to  make  it  solid.  After  this  the  sweep 
can  be  worked  around  to  form  a  true  face,  which  can  be 
made  crowning  or  straight  as  desired. 

When  swept  up  with  loam,  the  outside  of  the  pulley  can 
be  made  smooth  and  true,  so  as  to  save  turning  up  in  the 
machine  shop,  if  so  desired.  For  very  large  pulleys  this  is 
worthy  of  consideration. 

When  moulding  the  inside  of  a  pulley,  the  same  principle 
la  involved,  whether  there  are  one  or  two  sets  of  arms.  The 
double  sets  make  the  moulding  more  complicated  and  risky, 
but  in  the  hands  of  a  good  moulder  there  is  little  danger. 

There  are  two  ways  of  making  arms  ;  one  is  with  dry  and 
the  other  with  green  sand  cores.  The  making  of  the  inside 
will  depend  upon  whether  the  outside  of  the  pulley  is  formed 
with  the  segment,  or  with  the  sweep.  Should  the  segment 
be  used,  the  inside  of  the  pulley,  when  the  arms  are  formed 
in  dry  sand  core  as  shown,  will  require  to  be  moulded  first, 
so  as  to  have  a  bearing  for  the  segment  to  be  rammed  against. 
When  the  arms  are  made  in  dry  sand  cores,  the  cores  should 
not  be  made  any  larger  than  is  required  to  give  them  a  body 
sufficient  to  be  handled  with  safety. 

The  cut  shows  one  core  resting  on  the  bottom  level  bed, 
which  is  formed  with  a  sweep.  There  is  a  projection  on  the 
upper  side,  and  also  one  on  the  top  arm  core,  so  that  when 
both  come  together  they  make  a  hub  formed  of  dry  sand 


32  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

cores,  and  the  space  between  the  upper  and  lower  core  is 
filled  with  green  sand.  The  inside  is  also  rammed  and 
formed  with  green  sand  wherever  the  arm  cores  do  not  fill 
up. 

When  the  face  of  a  pulley  is  wanted  more  than  three  feet 
wide,  the  arms  would  come  so  far  apart  as  to  make  one  con- 
tinuous hub,  very  heavy,  unless  the  center  core  should  have  a 
deep  chamber  to  take  out  as  much  weight  of  iron  as  possi- 
ble. Should  the  hubs  be  wanted  separate,  they  can  be  made 
so  by  using  a  flat  covering  and  bottom  cores,  the  same  as 
shown  at  H,  H,  for  forming  the  bottom  and  top  of  the  hub 
shown.  In  order  to  let  the  iron  run  from  the  top  hub  down 
and  into  the  lower  one,  there  can  be  risers  or  flow  gates  con- 
necting the  two  as  shown  at  A. 

The  arm  core  box,  P,  is  used  for  forming  the  hub,  arms, 
and  inside  face  of  the  pulley  with  all  green  sand.  The  depth 
of  the  box  is  made  the  same  as  the  face  of  pulley  wanted, 
and  is  spaced  oif  according  to  the  number  of  arms  required. 

A  double  set  of  arms  can  be  made  With  the  green  sand 
cores,  with  almost  the  same  surety  that  a  single  set  can, 
providing  the  face  of  the  pulley  is  not  too  deep.  There 
could  be  two  sets  of  cores  made,  one  being  on  top  of  the 
other. 

The  green  sand  cores  could  not  be  used  with  safety  when 
the  segment  is  used  for  forming  the  outside,  nor  would  it 
be  practicable  to  attempt  to  use  the  double  set  of  cores 
unless  the  outside  of  the  mould  was  made  so  that  it  could 
be  hoisted  off,  and  out  of  the  way,  as  in  the  plan  of  the 
brick-loamed  mould  shown.  Then  set  the  green  sand  core, 
using  for  your  guide  a  mark  made  on  the  bed  with  the 
core  sweep,  W.  When  the  bottom  set  of  cores  arc  placed 
on  the  bed,  the  upper  set  of  cores  can  be  placed  on  top  of 
the  lower  ones  without  any  trouble.  In  this  way  it  can  be 
seen  if  there  is  any  crushing,  and  the  joints  of  the  cores  can 


MOULDING   LARGE   AND   SMALL   PULIEYS.  33 

be  made  up  so  that  there  will  be  no  fins  on  the  casting. 
This  core  sweep,  W,  is  also  used  for  giving  form  to  the 
green  sand  that  is  rammed  between  the  dry  sand  cores,  when 
they  are  used  to  form  the  arms  as  shown. 

To  make  the  neatest-looking  pulley  casting,  the  green 
sand  arm  cores  are  the  best  when  they  can  be  used  with 
safety,  for  when  a  casting  is  made  of  part  green  and  part 
dry  sand,  loam,  or  cores,  each  will  leave  its  own  trade  mark 
on  the  casting.  The  green  sand  part  will  swell  more  or 
less,  according  to  the  pressure  of  iron  when  the  mould 
is  being  cast,  but  the  dried  part  of  the  mould  will 
not  swell,  so  when  the  casting  comes  out  it  will  have  an 
uneven  surface.  The  different  colors  of  green  and  dry  sand, 
loam,  or  cores,  on  a  casting  make  it  look  badly;  as  if  it  had 
been  made  in  sections.  There  are  several  ways  to  make  a 
covering  for  the  top  of  the  rim  and  hub,  also  arrangements 
for  bolting  or  weighting  down.  The  first  is  to  have  a  level 
dry  or  green  sand  cope  ;  the  second,  a  loam  plate  ;  and  the 
third  to  make  some  cores  to  cover  the  rim,  as  shown  covering 
the  hub  at  H,  and  have  a  cast-iron  flat  plate  to  lay  inside  of 
the  covering  cores  on.  top  of  the  sand,  or  cores,  that  form 
the  arms  and  inside  of  the  pulley.  This  plate  is  used  to  lay 
the  weights  on  to  hold  down  the  inside  part  of  the  mould 
when  being  cast.  To  hold  down  the  covering  cores,  small 
weights  are  used.  Sometimes  the  rim  is  cast  all  open,  and 
the  hub  and  arms,  or  inside,  are  the  only  parts  weighted. 

The  gating  or  pouring  of  such  castings  is  generally  done 
(if  the  center  core  is  large  enough)  through  the  center  of 
the  core  to  gates  cut  into  the  bottom  of  the  print,  so  that 
the  iron  fills  up  the  mould  by  coming  in  at  the  bottom  of 
the  hub  ;  or  by  dropping  the  iron  through  runners  from  the 
top,  as  shown  at  A.  The  iron  spindle  shown,  when  used 
for  sweeping  large  pulleys  should  be  held  at  the  top  by  a 
brace  stretched  across  the  mould,  and  fastened  to  two 
2* 


34  GREEK   SAND  MOULDING. 

upright  timbers  sunk  into  the  floor  three  or  four  feet  away 
from  each  side  of  the  mould.  If  near  enough  to  the  side  of 
the  building,  there  could  be  a  swinging  arm  made  to  reach 
out  to  the  spindle,  to  hold  it  firm  and  steady. 

The  arm  pattern  in  the  core-box,  P,  is  set  into  the  middle 
of  the  outside  frame,  and  after  the  core  is  rammed  up  and 
ready  for  the  box  to  be  drawn,  by  hitting  the  arm  at  the  end 
R,  to  start  it,  the  pattern  can  be  pulled  out  easily  through 
the  hub  end,  D  ;  after  which  the  outside  box  can  be  taken 
away. 

In  making  these  cores,  a  cast-iron  beveled  edge  plate,  the 
shape  of  the  inside  of  the  box,  and  made  so  as  to  have  about 
J"  clearance  all  around  the  inside,  is  set  on  a  level  board,  or 
a  hard  bed  of  sand.  The  box  is  then  set  on,  and  the 
core  rammed  up  nearly  to  the  arm,  which  is  then  put  into 
the  box  and  the  sand  tucked  under  it  even  and  firm.  At 
this  point  the  moulder  must  be  careful,  as  in  making  the  cores 
in  this  way,  the  arm  cannot  be  got  at  to  finish  it,  or  to  fill 
up  soft  places  after  the  core  is  made.  The  advantage  of 
making  a  core  in  this  way  is,  that  when  setting  in  the  cores 
there  is  no  danger  of  crushing  the  arms,  or  of  having  fins 
on  them,  which  must  be  chipped  off  when  the  casting  comes 
out,  which  is  likely  to  be  the  case  when  one  half  is  formed  at 
the  outside  surfaces  of  the  core,  T,  T.  To  lift  or  hoist  these 
cores,  there  can  be  lifting-hooks,  or  nuts  cast  in  the  anchor 
or  lifting-plates,  the  lifting-hooks  being  made  so  as  to  come 
up  even  with  the  top  of  the  core.  When  nuts  are  used, 
long  screws,  as  shown  at  E,  E,  are  used,  and  when  the  first 
core  is  set  in  the  mould  they  can  be  taken  out  and  used  for 
the  others. 

The  cuts  4  and  G  show  the  plan  of  making  pulleys  with  a 
draw-ring  pattern.  In  this  way  any  face  required  can  be 
moulded  from  the  same  pattern. 

At  G  is  shown  the  mode  of  casting  a  pulley  having  a  face 


MOULDING  LARGE  AND  SMALL  PULLEYS. 


RIG    FOR   MOULDING    PULLEYS. 


36  GREEK   SAND   MOULDING. 

wider  than  the  pattern.  In  moulding  this  a  hole  is  first  dug 
in  the  floor  and  the  ring  pattern  set  in,  leveled  and  rammed 
up  to  about  the  center  of  face  required.  The  loose  arm  and 
hub  arc  then  bedded  in.  The  dotted  lines  show  the  distance 
the  ring  pattern  has  to  be  drawn,  in  order  to  have  the  arms  in 
the  center.  The  pulley  can  be  cast  with  the  rim  open,  or 
covered  with  a  cope,  as  desired.  It  is  best  to  make  the  faces 
about  \''  higher  than  wanted,  so  as  to  give  stock  for  the  ma- 
chinist to  true  up. 

The  hub  shown  is  arranged  to  readily  change  the  core 
prints  to  any  size  wanted.  The  hubs  have  a  hole  drilled 
through  their  centers,  the  same  diameter  as  the  holes  in  the 
center  of  the  arm  pattern,  and  there  are  wooden  plugs  driven 
into  the  hubs  which  project  on  the  side  or  face  that  comes 
next  to  the  arm,  and  centers  the  hub.  The  core  prints  have 
also  projections  turned  on  them  the  same  diameter  as  the 
hole  in  the  hubs,  so  that  a  moulder  work  ing  on  pulleys  need 
not  be  running  to  a  pattern-maker  every  time  he  wants  to 
change  the  size  of  prints. 

At  4  are  shown  two  ways  of  making  the  anchor  or  lifting 
plates.  One  style  has  a  wrought  bent  rod  cast  in  them, 
reaching  from  one  plate  to  the  other.  The  second  plan  is 
to  have  a  cast-iron  rib  reach  from  one  to  the  other — a  plan  I 
adopted,  and  find  it  to  be  more  reliable  and  to  make  a  stiffer 
plate  than  the  wrought-iron  rods.  The  oval,  black  spots 
represent  the  arm  between  the  plates. 

When  a  double  set  of  arms  are  wanted  in  smaller  pulleys, 
there  are  a  number  of  ways  in  which  they  can  be  moulded, 
but  as  a  general  rule,  foundries  do  not  rig  up  to  make  double 
arms,  there  being  so  few  ordered.  When  one  is  wanted  the 
rigging  is  got  up  with  as  little  labor  as  possible.  In  some  in- 
stances the  lower  set  of  arms  is  made  with  cores,  or  a  flat 
core  is  made  inside  the  ring  pattern,  having  one  half  of  the 
arms  and  hub  formed  in  it,  and  the  other  half  is  bedded  in 


MOULDING   LARGE   AND   SMALL   PULLEYS.  37 

green  sand.  Before  the  arm  pattern  is  drawn  the  flat  core 
is  set  over  the  arms  and  staked  through  holes  made  in  the 
core  between  the  arms.  The  core  is  then  taken  out  and  the 
pattern  drawn,  after  which  the  arms  are  finished  and  the 
core  set  back.  The  pulley  is  rammed  up  to  where  the  upper 
arms  are  wanted,  and  the  rest  of  the  moulding  is  the  same 
as  in  making  a  pulley  with  one  set  of  arms.  Another  way 
of  making  the  lower  set  of  arms  is  to  have  single  cores  with 
half  the  arm  and  hub  formed  in  them,  and  when  the  arm 
pattern  is  drawn  the  single  cores  are  placed  back,  guided  by 
stakes  or  sand-marks  made  by  laying  the  core  on  top  of 
each  arm  before  the  pattern  is  drawn. 

Although  using  the  cores  as  described  is  a  quick  way  of 
forming  the  lower  set  of  arms,  it  does  not  produce  as  good 
looking  casting  as  when  they  are  formed  by  the  following 
plans.  In  some  cases  foundries  have  used  a  regular  anchor 
plate  for  the  bottom  set  of  arms,  and  when  the  castings 
come  out  the  anchor  plate  had  to  be  broken  in  order  to 
get  it  out  of  the  casting.  When  there  is  time  to  make  the 
rigging,  loose  plates  having  nuts  for  screws,  or  lifting-hooks 
cast  into  them,  are  used.  These  plates  are  set  between  each 
arm,  and  the  pulley  rammed  up  6"  or  7". 

A  plate  having  holes  to  correspond,  so  that  the  screws 
or  hooks  can  pass  up  through  and  be  wedged,  is  bedded 
on  the  sand.  The  pully  pattern  is  then  drawn  and  the  flat 
plate,  having  all  the  loose  plates  wedged  up  to  it,  is  hoisted 
out.  The  arm  pattern  is  drawn  and  the  core  lowered  back, 
after  which  the  pully  pattern  is  gently  set  back.  The 
wedges  are  now  loosened,  the  flat  plate  taken  out  and  the 
upper  arm  and  the  rest  of  the  pulley  is  rammed  up  and  fin- 
ished. 

Another  way  is  to  have  holes  in  the  upper  anchor  plates, 
and  by  having  two  sets  of  arm  patterns,  ram  up  the  whole 
pulley.  Long  bolts  with  threads  cut  on  each  end  are  used 


38  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

to  bolt  the  lower  loose  plates  to  the  top  lifting-plate,  by 
which  the  whole  core  is  hoisted  out  and  the  lower  arm  fin- 
ished. The  core  is  then  lowered  back  and  the  nuts  taken 
off.  The  top  portion  is  then  hoisted  out  and  the  upper  arm 
finished.  The  bolt  holes  in  the  sand  are  enlarged  and  the  top 
portion  lowered  down  to  its  place. 

The  following  dimensions  are  from  what  are  termed  a  light, 
a  medium,  and  a  heavy  set  of  pulley  ring  draw  patterns, 
from  10"  up  to  48''  in  diameter.  The  face  of  these  patterns 

LIGHT. 


Diameter. 
10"  

Thickness. 

..A" 

48"  

10"  

MEDIUM. 

-A-" 

48"  

5% 

If" 

10"  

HEAVY. 

48"  .  . 

.M" 

generally  runs  from  six  to  ten  inches,  and,  to  draw  them, 
holes  are  drilled  through  the  pattern  within  §''  of  the  top, 
and  hooks  instead  of  screws  are  used.  In  making  a  set  of 
these  patterns  they  could  be  swept  up  in  loam,  or  in  green 
sand,  by  using  a  segment  attached  to  an  arm  having  a  hole  at 
the  radius  wanted,  to  fix  on  a  stake  driven  into  the  sand  ; 
or  the  arm  could  be  attached  to  an  iron  spindle. 

There  are  some  things  that  a  f  oundryman  should  think  of 
before  starting  to  make  a  set  of  draw  patterns.  One  is,  that 
a  poorer  grade  of  iron  can  be  run  into  heavy  pulley  castings 
than  into  light  ones.  Should  a  No.  2  iron,  that  can  be 
turned  in  a  heavy  pulley,  be  run  into  a  light  one,  he  might 


MOULDING    LARGE   AND   SMALL   PULLEYS.  39 

be  looking  for  cracked  arms,  or  a  blessing  from  the  machin- 
ist that  tried  to  turn  them.  Where  competition  is  sharp 
it  is  best  to  have  a  light  and  a  heavy  set  of  patterns,  so  that 
customers  can  have  their  choice  ;  but  if  you  can  make  them 
believe  that  a  heavy  pulley  will  wear  longer,  it  will  be  more 
money  in  your  pocket.  When  an  establishment  intends  to 
make  nothing  but  pulleys,  it  is  better  to  be  fitted  up  with 
what  are  called  split  pulley  patterns,  which  require  a  pattern 
for  every  width  of  face  wanted.  They  should  also  have  the 
best  of  flasks  to  make  them  in,  by  which  means  they  can  be 
made  very  fast.  But  for  the  jobbing  foundry,  the  draw  pat- 
terns are  the  best,  as  fewer  patterns  and  flasks  are  needed, 
and  the  expense  is  nothing  compared  with  the  cost  of  get- 
ting up  a  stock  of  split  patterns,  and  the  necessary  flasks. 

For  the  proportion  of  either  straight  or  crooked  arms, 
there  can  be  found  full  figures  given  J~j  Chordal  in  the 
AMERICAN  MACHINIST,  July  23,  1881. 

As  regards  the  shrinkage  or  cracking  of  pulley  arms,  I 
will  say,  to  prevent  the  arms  cracking  select  iron  hav- 
ing the  least  possible  shrinkage.  In  my  practice,  when 
there  is  a  car  of  No.  1  iron  sent  to  the  shop,  I  always  test 
it  by  melting  one  charge  in  the  small  cupola.  At  the  second 
tap  I  catch  a  hand  ladle  full  and  pour  a  1"  square  bar  five  feet 
long,  and  when  cool,  should  the  bar  have  shrunk  more  than 
|",  there  will  be  danger  of  large  light  pulleys  cracking  if 
made  from  it.  To  determine  if  soft  when  remelted,  I  have 
some  poured  from  the  same  hand  ladle  into  some  little  test 
moulds,  having  one  side  of  the  mould  formed  with  an  iron 
chill,  and  when  cool  the  pieces  are  broken  and  tested. 


40  GREEN  SAND   MOULDING. 


FINISHING  GREEN  SAND  MOULDS. 

Go  into  any  machine  or  jobbing  foundry,  and  notice 
moulders  finishing  or  patching  moulds  that  have  been  broken 
in  drawing  the  pattern,  and  you  will  see  some  one  mending 
a  corner,  for  instance,  that  has  been  started  or  broken,  by 
taking  his  swab  and  wetting  the  part  to  be  patched,  and  then 
taking  some  sand  and  pressing  it  on  the  top  of  the  wetted 
part.  Another  moulder,  not  having  so  large  a  piece  to  mend, 
will  swab  the  part,  and  then  patch  on  sand  with  his  trowel ; 
or  he  may  be  finishing  a  cope  overhead,  when  ten  chances 
to  one  he  will  be  raising  his  trowel  for  rubbing  sand  into  the 
holes,  and  every  time  the  trowel  goes  with  a  bit  of  sand  it  is 
sleeked  up  against  the  smooth  surface,  caused  by  the  pressure 
and  sliding  movement  of  the  trowel.  Although  he  will  see 
the  sand  falling  down,  as  fast  almost  as  he  puts  it  up,  he  will 
keep  on  trying  until  he  thinks  something  is  the  matter,  then 
he  will  tell  his  helper  to  get  him  some  nails ;  that  the  sand 
is  so  rotten  and  poor  it  will  not  hold  together. 

He  will  then  push  up  some  nails  to  hold  the  sand.  Nails 
are  a  useful  article,  but  some  moulders  will  make  a  casting 
without  using  one,  while  another,  in  making  the  same  cast- 
ing, will  use  two  or  three  pounds,  and,  perhaps,  if  he  did  not 
use  them  his  casting  would  not  be  good.  Some  moulders 
will  ram  up  a  mould  in  such  a  manner  that  it  will  not  re- 
quire half  the  finishing  it  would  require  if  rammed  up  by 
another. 

If  a  moulder  thinks  he  has  more  time  to  finish  the  mould 
than  he  has  to  ram  it  up,  he  will  hurry  or  slight  the  ram- 
ming ;  or  he  will  do  this,  perhaps,  in  order  to  catch  the  use 


FINISHING    GREEN    SAND    MOULDS.  4l 

of  the  crane,  or  to  get  ahead  of  some  moulder  on  the  gager 
pile,  etc.  As  there  are  plenty  of  nails  in  the  kegs,  he  will 
whisper  to  himself  that  he  will  not  bother  putting  a  rod  in 
that  corner,  or  be  particular  in  ramming  it ;  for  if  the  pat- 
tern when  drawn  starts  or  knocks  off  the  corner,  he  will  have 
plenty  of  time  to  patch  and  nail  it.  Or  he  may  ram,  rod, 
and  vent  the  bottom  in  a  creditable  manner,  and  slight  the 
cope,  by  not  tucking  the  bars  good,  or  ramming  up  the  sand 
solid,  and  when  the  cope  is  lifted  off,  and  a  large  lump  of 
sand  falls  out,  he  will  think  of  the  nail  keg  and  smile.  Should 
the  foreman  complain  about  using  so  many  nails  he  will  tell 
him  that  the  crane  jumped,  or  that  the  old  wooden  flask  had 
ought  to  have  been  broken  up  long  ago,  and  if  times  are  good 
and  men  scarce,  the  foreman,  to  avoid  any  words,  will  walk 
away,  and  in  a  short  time  he  will  order  the  nail  kegs  to  be 
locked  up  and  carry  the  key  in  his  pocket. 

About  the  first  thing  a  moulder  should  do  after  his  cope 
is  lifted  off — when  the  pattern  is  bedded  in  the  floor —  is  to 
lay  some  boards  around  on  his  joint  so  as  to  preserve  it,  as 
there  is  nothing  that  looks  so  slovenly  as  to  see  the  joints  of 
moulds  all  trampled  and  cut  up  by  kneeling  on  them  when 
finishing. 

,  In  drawing  out  a  pattern,  the  top  edge  of  the  mould  is 
always  started  more  or  less,  and  it  is  the  first  part  that  the 
moulder  should  give  his  attention  to,  by  getting  it  sleeked 
or  fastened  down  to  it  original  place.  In  finishing  over  the 
mould,  if  there  are  any  parts  that  look  started,  it  is  best,  if 
practicable,  to  tear  them  off  instead  of  just  pressing  the 
sand  back — even  if  there  are  some  nails  in  it — and  rebuild 
or  patch  it  up,  not  with  sand  on  the  trowel,  but  by  using 
the  hands  to  press  the  sand  with.  By  using  the  hands  a 
moulder  can  unite  and  shape  the  soft  loose  sand  on  the  solid 
sand  in  a  shorter  time  and  in  a  great  deal  more  reliable 
manner  than  by  patching  it  on  with  a  trowel.  How  much 


42  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

more  mechanical  it  looks  to  see  a  moulder,  when  mending  a 
cope  overhead,  take  the  sand  in  his  hand  instead  of  on  the 
point  of  a  trowel. 

When  the  parts  are  made  solid  take  a  little  wooden  straight 
edge,  shape  and  smooth  off  the  extra  sand,  and  go  lightly 
over  with  the  trowel  or  finishing  tools.  In  patching  on 
sand  a  moulder's  fingers  never  caused  a  cold  shut  or  scabby 
casting;  but  too  much  sleeking  with  tools  often  does  so.  In 
such  castings  as  thin  pipes  or  plates,  it  is  better  to  have  the 
fingers  go  easily  over  the  sleeked  or  finished  mould,  and  then 
rough  the  surface  up  a  little,  as  iron  will  lie  quietly  on  a 
rough  surface,  when  it  would  boil  or  bubble  against  a 
smooth,  sleeked  surface. 

If  any  part  of  a  mould  to  be  mended  is  too  dry  for  the 
sand  to  stick  to,  dampen  it  by  taking  a  mouthful  of  water 
and  blowing  it  out  in  a  fine  spray.  When  water  is  swabbed 
on  an  extra  dampness,  or  mud,  is  formed,  so  that  when  the 
hot  iron  is  poured  into  the  mould,  although  it  may  have 
surface  sand  the  right  temperature  to  lie  on  as  this  surface 
gets  heated,  the  heat  soon  reaches  this  extra  dampness  or 
mud,  and,  as  heat,  when  it  comes  in  contact  with  dampness 
is  sure  to  raise  steam,  and  the  sand  not  being  of  a  body 
strong  enough  to  hold  the  pressure,  it  will  escape  by  lifting 
the  sand  on  top  of  it,  and  passing  up  through  the  iron 
will  cause  it  to  bubble,  and  cause  the  casting  to  blow. 

If  the  swab  is  used  it  should  be  only  on  the  surface,  for 
then,  when  the  steam  is  made,  it  has  only  to  raise  the  iron 
to  pass  up  through,  and,  if  there  is  a  scab  on  it,  it  will  be  a 
very  light  one. 

For  heavy  or  light  casting  sleeking  or  swabbing  must  be 
done  in  an  intelligent  manner,  if  good  castings  are  expected. 

THE  DRAWING  DOWN  OF  GREEN  SAND  COPES. 

The  surface  condition  of  a  green  sand  cope,  while  the  iron 


FINISHING   GKEEN   SAND   MOULDS.  43 

is  being  poured  into  the  mould,  entirely  depends  on  the 
mixture  and  nature  of  the  sand,  and  the  heat  it  is  subjected 
to.  Any  section  of  a  cope  surface  that  is  exposed  to  the 
direct  heat  of  the  metal  for  oyer  twenty  seconds,  requires 
the  sand  to  be  strong  and  close  and  gaggered  well,  having  as 
little  sand  under  the  gaggers  as  possible,  to  keep  the  sand 
from  been  drawn  down.  I  noticed  in  a  recent  issue  of  the 
MACHINIST,  the  assertion  made  that,  with  a  plate  2"  or 
more  in  thickness,  the  cope  will  be  Liked  hard  as  a  brick 
by  the  intense  heat  before  the  iron  reaches  it.  I  only  wish 
that  such  was  the  case,  for  it  would  save  work  and  anxiety 
for  the  result  of  many  large  castings.  I  have  made  moulds 
in  green  sand  that  were  not  safe  to  cover  with  a  green  sand 
cope,  and  have  covered  them  with  a  loam  plate,  fearing  that 
the  green  sand  would  draw  down.  This  is  caused  by  the 
sand  exposed  to  the  heat  getting  dry  and  dropping  down  on 
the  rising  iron,  which,  when  the  casting  comes  out,  shows 
lumps  and  sand-holes  in  the  cope  part.  There  are  several 
ways  of  securing  a  cope  surface,  to  a  great  extent,  from 
drawing  down.  For  instance,  mix  some  flour  in  your  facing 
sand  ( about  one  to  sixteen  or  twenty ),  or  wet  your  sand 
with  clay  wash,  and,  before  closing  the  cope,  sprinkle  the 
surface  over  with  molasses  water,  or  beer. 

Above  everything,  keep  your  risers  and  feeding  heads  ail 
tight,  so  that  there  is  no  chance  for  the  air  in  the  mould  to 
escape,  except  through  the  venting  and  the  sand.  Then  the 
rising  metal  will  compress  the  air  above  it  sufficiently  to 
keep  the  sand  from  being  drawn  down  by  the  heat,  if  the 
mould  is  not  too  long  in  filling  up,  so  that  the  pressure  is 
released  by  the  air  having  time  to  escape  through  the  vent- 
holes  and  the  sand.  There  is  also  such  a  thing  as  pouring 
a  casting  too  fast,  so  as  not  to  give  the  air  a  chance  to  escape 
as  freely  as  it  should,  thereby  lifting  your  riser  cover  and 
weights,  and  letting  the  air  rush  out  and  start  your  mould 


44  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

blowing.  I  have  made  castings  where  I  have  nailed  the 
surface  of  the  cope  over  with  nails,  keeping  the  heads  about 
ono-eighth  of  an  inch  below  the  face  of  the  sand,  and  in 
some  cases  have  had  the  nails  even  with  the  face  of  the 
mould,  so  as  to  insure  the  cope  against  being  drawn  clown. 
When  not  feeling  sure  of  this,  I  have  made  the  facing  sand 
strong  with  flour,  and  wet  it  with  clay  wash,  and  when  the 
cope  was  finished,  made  it  very  damp  with  molasses  water, 
building  a  fire  with  shavings  and  chips  under  the  cope, 
until  the  surface  of  the  mould  was  dried  like  a  dry  sand 
mould.  When  I  thought  that  none  of  these  extra  precautions 
would  keep  a  green  sand  cope  from  getting  dry  or  burnt,  I 
would  then  use  a  loam  or  dry  sand  cope,  or  covering. 


MOULDING   BEVEL   AKD   SPUR   WHEELS.  45 


MOULDING  BEVEL  AND   SPUE  WHEELS  IN 
GEEEN  SAND  WITHOUT  A  PATTEEN. 

GEAR  moulding  is  something  that  nearly  every  jobbing 
and  machine  foundry  has  something  to  do  with.  Gear 
wheels  are  often  broken  in  use,  and  are  readily  replaced  if 
the  patterns  are  at  hand  in  some  foundry  near  by.  But 
when  to  replace  them  it  is  necessary,  as  is  often  the  case^  to 
send  a  good  ways,  there  is  generally  great  delay  before  the 
casting  is  received. 

Some  mills  and  factories  keep  in  stock  wheels  to  replace 
those  that  are  liable  to  be  broken,  which  is  a  very  good  plan, 
as  the  expense  of  carrying  a  few  wheels  is  trifling  when  com- 
pared with  the  loss  of  having  a  machine,  or  sometimes  the 
entire  works,  shut  down  until  a  new  wheel  is  procured. 

The  cut  represents  a  plan  for  moulding  or  sweeping  up  a 
bevel  wheel,  the  pattern  work  for  which  can  be  made  in  a 
very  short  time  compared  with  that  required  to  make  an 
entire  pattern.  The  sweeps  and  segment  could  be  made  one 
day,  and  the  gear  cast  the  next  day,  unless  in  the  case  of  a 
large  wheel.  The  advantages  of  sweeping  up  such  wheels, 
where  there  are  only  one  or  two  wanted,  is  the  saving  of 
making  a  full  pattern,  and  the  saving  in  time.  Of  course, 
it  takes  more  time  to  mould  a  gear  with  the  sweeps  and  seg- 
ments than  where  a  full  pattern  is  used,  but  this  extra  time 
is  nothing  compared  with  the  labor  required  to  make  the 
pattern. 

In  sweeping  up  gears  in  this  way  the  spindle  seat  is  first 
sunk  and  trued  up,  and,  if  the  wheel  is  large  in  diameter, 


46  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

it  is  best  to  have  the  top  of  the  spindle  held  firm,  by  having 
a  brace  attached  to  it.  Then  a  coke  or  cinder  bed  is  placed, 
as  shown,  after  which  the  sweep  X is  fastened  to  the  spindle. 
A  bed  for  the  hub,  B,  and  loose  arms,  P,  also  for  the  inside 
face  and  the  top  surface  of  the  teeth,  is  swept  up,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  the  joint  is  also  swept.  The  hub  and  loose  arms 
are  now  set  on.  The  surface  of  the  bed  and  joint  having 
been  well  sprinkled  and  sleeked  up  with  parting  sand,  the 
cope  is  set  on  and  rammed  up.  When  the  cope  is  lifted  off, 
the  sweep  8  is  fastened  to  the  spindle,  having  the  edge  H 
just  bearing  on  the  joint,  so  that  when  the  sweep  is  revolved 
it  will  not  disturb  it.  If  the  joint  is  disturbed  it  will  leave 
a  fin  over  the  tops  of  the  teeth. 

The  depth  of  the  teeth  and  rim,  also  the  thickness  of  the 
plate  or  web,  as  well  as  the  hub  core  print,  are  then  swept 
up.  The  segment  Y9  having  an  arm  screwed  on  to  it,  is 
then  secured  to  the  spindle,  as  shown,  and  the  teeth  are 
rammed  up.  The  tops  or  joint  edges  of  the  teeth  are  better 
for  having  some  long  slim  nails  pushed  through  the  sand. 

The  vents  should  be  carried  into  the  cinder  bed,  instead 
of  being  carried  off  at  the  joint,  as  is  generally  done  when 
there  is  a  full  pattern  to  mould  from.  The  reason  for  nail- 
ing and  venting  in  this  way  is  that  when  the  cope  is  lowered 
down,  to  see  if  any  of  the  teeth  will  crush,  if  some  of  them 
should  touch  hard,  the  nails  will  help  to  hold  them  from 
being  broken,  or  from  sticking  to  the  cope  when  it  is  hoisted 
off  again.  If  vented  at  the  top,  the  fins,  of  which  there  will 
be  more  or  less  at  the  tops  of  the  teeth  and  at  the  joint,  will 
be  sure  to  get  into  the  vents  ;  but  when  carried  off  through 
the  cinder  bed,  the  joint  all  around  the  flask  can  be  rammed 
so  as  to  prevent  any  run-outs  and  burning  the  flask. 

There  should  not  be  less  than  six  teeth  on  the  tooth  seg- 
ment. The  more  teeth,  the  quicker  will  the  moulder  get 
the  teeth  rammed  up. 


MOULDING   BEVEL   AND   SPUR   WHEELS. 


DEVICE   FOR   MOULDING    SPUR   AND   BEVEL   WHEELS. 


48  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

Great  exactness  is  required  in  sweeping  up  gear  wheels 
after  this  plan,  in  order  to  get  the  right  number  of  teeth, 
and  also  to  have  the  last  tooth  rammed  up  of  the  same 
width  and  space  as  the  others.  After  the  bed  for  the  segment 
to  lie  on  is  swept  out,  it  is  best  to  go  around  with  the 
segment,  marking  the  ends  of  the  teeth  on  the  bed,  so  they 
may  be  counted,  to  make  sure  of  having  the  last  tooth  come 
right,  before  starting  to  ram  up  the  teeth.  W  and  D  show 
the  last  tooth,  which  is  liable  to  come  larger  or  smaller, 
when  the  diameter  is  not  set  exactly  right.  When  marking 
off  on  the  bed  before  ramming  up  the  teeth,  should  the  last 
tooth  be  found  to  leave  too  large  a  space,  as  shown  at  D,  the 
diameter  must  be  made  less.  Should  the  space  be  too  small, 
as  shown  at  W,  the  diameter  must  be  increased. 

The  amount  that  the  radius  is  changed -to  bring  the  last 
tooth  right,  is  approximately  one-sixth  of  the  measurement 
that  the  tooth  is  too  large  or  small.  Should  the  space  be 
•f "  (or  f")  too  large,  the  radius  should  be  made  \''  smaller, 
after  which  it  is  best  to  go  around  again  and  see  if  the 
change  has  made  it  right. 

The  cut  R  shows  the  process  of  sweeping  up  a  spur  wheel. 
A  level  bed  is  first  made,  and  then  the  tooth  segment  fast- 
ened to  the  arm,  which  is  of  different  shape  than  the  one 
shown  for  sweeping  up  the  bevel  wheel.  The  collar,  which 
is  for  supporting  and  allowing  the  arm  to  revolve  around  on 
it,  is  held  firmly  by  the  set  screw  shown.  After  the  teeth 
are  all  rammed  up  and  finished,  the  dry  or  green  sand 
cores  can  be  set  on  the  level  bed  to  form  whatever  style  of 
arms  are  wanted.  The  arms  are  shown  at  A.  The  spindle 
is  then  taken  out,  the  hole  filled  with  sand,  and  the  center 
core  set  in.  The  mould  is  then  ready  for  the  cope  to  be 
set  on. 

The  cope  should  be  rammed  up  on  a  level  mould  board, 
or  on  a  level  bed  of  sand.  After  the  cope  has  been  tried  on 


MOULDING    BEVEL   AND   SPUR   WHEELS.  49 

and  off  it  is  then  set  back,  or  closed  on  for  the  last  time. 
The  weights  are  then  hoisted  on,  and  the  bars  wedged  down 
if  necessary.  The  pouring  basin,  or  runner,  and  feeding 
heads  are  made,  after  which  the  mould  is  ready  to  be  poured. 
Referring  to  the  spacing  of  the  teeth  in  such  a  way  as  to 
come  out  correctly — that  is,  to  have  the  last  tooth  and  space 
of  the  same  dimensions  as  all  the  others — care  must  be  taken 
when  ramming  up  and  changing  the  segment.  The  best 
plan  is  to  depend  upon  the  marks  made  at  the  ends  of  the 
last  tooth  on  each  side  ;  then,  since  by  ignoring  the  marks, 
guiding  altogether  by  setting  the  end  segment  tooth  up 
against  the  face  of  the  last  tooth  moulded,  there  is  danger 
of  having  a  thin  or  thick  tooth  at  the  conclusion,  after  these 
marks  are  correctly  made,  it  is  best  to  cover  them  over  with 
pieces  of  board,  paper,  or  anything  to  prevent  them  from 
obliteration.  Another  plan  sometimes  adopted  as  a  guide 
for  changing  the  segment,  is  to  shake  out  flour  on  the  sand 
bed,  so  that  when  the  segment  is  lifted  a  perfect  impression 
of  the  teeth  is  shown,  and  by  carefully  keeping  loose  sand 
from  the  bed  there  will  be  correct  impressions  on  the  bed  by 
which  to  reset  the  segment. 
3 


50  GREEK    SAND    MOULDING. 


IMPROVEMENT    IN    MOULDING    GEAR    WHEELS, 
PULLEYS,  ETC. 

PROBABLY  in  no  branch  of  the  iron  business  has  so  little 
been  done  to  assist,  by  mechanical  appliances,  the  skill  of  the 
workman  as  in  that  of  moulding.  In  the  main,  the  moulder 
goes  about  his  work  to-day  substantially  as  he  did  thirty 
years  ago,  his  success  depending  on  his  skill  in  the  use  of  the 
simple  tools  then  known  to  the  trade,  rather  than  to  the 
advantages  of  new  appliances. 

As  showing,  however,  that  some  thought  has  been  ex- 
pended in  the  direction  of  improved  methods  of  moulding, 
we  illustrate  herewith  a  patent  device  of  R.  B.  Swift,  of 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  a  practical  moulder  of  long  experience, 
for  moulding  such  work  as  gear  wheels,  pulleys,  and  similar 
pieces,  from  a  sectional  pattern,  which  we  are  informed  has 
been  adopted  by  some  large  manufacturing  concerns  to  their 
satisfaction,  not  only  in  the  saving  of  time,  but  in  the  qual- 
ity of  the  work  produced. 

In  drawing  the  segmental  pattern  used  in  making  a  casting 
there  is  always  the  danger  of  tearing  up  the  mould.  Fur- 
ther, it  is  sometimes  very  desirable  to  make  a  casting  in 
green  sand  of  such  form  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  draw 
the  segment  directly.  The  object  of  this  device  is  -not  only 
to  provide  against  the  breaking  down  of  a  mould  with  a 
plain  pattern,  but  to  provide  for  using  sectional  patterns  of 
such  forms  as  cannot  be  directly  drawn,  such  as  crown- 
faced  pulleys,  grooved  friction  wheels,  etc. 

Referring  to  the  engraving,  which  represents  a  mould  in 


IMPROVEMENT   IN   MOULDING    GEAR   WHEELS,    ETC.       51 

process  of  being  made,  the  use  of  this  device  may  be  ex- 
plained. The  segment  pattern  is  shown  attached,  and,  as 
will  be  noticed,  the  spindle  is  embraced  by  two  half  boxes, 
which  are  made  to  accurately  fit  it.  These  boxes  are  fitted 
to  be  moved  in  jaws  by  means  of  the  screws  E,  E.  In  use, 
the  segment  pattern — whatever  it  may  be — is  screwed  in 
place,  as  shown,  so  as  to  sweep  approximately  the  proper 
radius.  The  spindle  being  in  position,  the  radius  is  cor- 
rected, so  as  to  be  exactly  right,  by  means  of  the  two  adjust- 


V-:.-  -••>  ;;•.:.?..• 

SWIFT'S  PATENT  DEVICE   FOB  MOULDING  GEAK  WHEELS,  ETC. 

ing  screws  referred  to,  the  manner  of  doing  this  being  so 
apparent  as  to  need  no  explanation.  The  advantage  of  this 
almost  instantaneous  means  of  adjustment  will  commend 
itself  to  any  one  accustomed  to  doing  this  class  of  work. 

This  feature  alone  would  seem  sufficient  to  demonstrate 
the  value  of  the  device  ;  but  perhaps  the  most  valuable 
feature  is  its  adaptation  to  the  following  purposes  :  Let  it  be 
desired  to  make  a  casting  which  has  some  projecting  parts 
that  would  render  it  impossible  to  draw  the  segment  straight 


52  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

In  this  case  either  of  the  screws  may  be  turned  back,  drawing 
the  pattern  either  towards  or  away  from  the  center,  as  may 
be  desired,  until  it  is  free  to  be  drawn  without  the  possible 
danger  of  breaking  down  the  mould.  When  used  in  this 
way  the  opposite  screw  to  the  one  being  used  remains  station- 
ary, and  serves  as  an  accurate  stop  or  guide  by  which  to 
quickly  reset  the  segment. 


The  methods  or  riggings  for  moulding,  illustrated  in  this 
article,  are  those  in  use  for  moulding  gear  wheels  and  pul- 
leys in  the  shops  of  the  Cuyahoga  Works,  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
and  which  I  am  kindly  allowed  to  present  by  their  permis- 
sion. The  upper  cut  shows  the  process  of  moulding  a  spur 
gear  wheel  having  a  top  and  bottom  shrouding  on  it,  using 
only  a  small  segment  and  arm  core  box  to  form  or  make  the 
casting  from. 

The  difference  between  moulding  a  wheel  having  a  shroud- 
ing and  one  that  has  none,  will  be  better  understood  by  refer- 
ring to  the  article  entitled  "  Moulding  Bevel  and  Spur  Gear 
Wheels  in  Green  Sand,  Without  a  Pattern,"  page  45.  In 
moulding  this  shrouded  wheel,  the  tooth  segment  X  requires 
to  have  one  tooth  loose  and  long  enough  to  come  down  on  the 
sand  bed,  so  that  every  time  the  segment  is  drawn  it  can  be 
replaced  exactly,  according  to  the  marks  made  on  the  sand, 
as  described  in  the  article  referred  to.  The  flat  loose  seg- 
ment K,  after  the  level  bed  is  made  and  spaced  off,  is  set 
on  and  the  tooth  segment  is  set  on  top  of  it  as  shown  at  1". 
The  teeth  are  then  rammed  up  and  the  tooth  segment  drawn, 
after  which  the  segment  shroud  is  drawn  in,  and  then  re- 
placed and  the  tooth  segment  reset.  Then  more  teeth  are 
rammed,  and  so  on  until  the  circle  is  completed. 

To  form  the  top  shrouding  on  the  wheel,  the  sweep  H  is 
secured  to  the  spindle  and  a  solid  hard  bed  is  swept  up,  as 


IMPROVEMENT   IN   MOULDING   GEAR   WHEELS,  ETC.       53 

shown  at  A.  The  outside  edge,  4,  could  be  formed  by 
having  wooden  segment  pieces  laid  all  around,  if  so  desired, 
although  this  is  seldom  done.  After  this  bed  is  finished,  the 
cope  is  set  on  and  rammed  up,  and  being  well  staked,  is 
then  lifted  off.  A  hole  the  right  diameter  and  depth  is 
then  dug  out,  the  bottom  bed  swept  up,  and  the  teeth  and 
lower  shrouding  formed  as  described.  After  this,  green  or 
dry  sand  cores  are  set  in  to  form  the  arms  and  hub,  and  the 
cope  is  closed  on,  having  the  stakes  as  shown  at  V  for  a  guide. 

Mr.  J.  F.  Holloway,  the  president  of  the  Cuyahoga  Works 
has  designed  a  spindle  for  such  class  of  sweeping,  that  will 
not  shake  or  turn  over  from  the  weight  of  a  heavy  sweep. 
The  spindle  is  made  of  a  heavy  tube  from  2"  to  4"  diameter. 
The  outside  is  trued  up  and  the  ends  faced  off.  The  spindle 
seat,  W,  is  bored  out  straight  so  as  to  be  a  good  fit,  and  the 
hollow  spindle  is  set  into  it.  At  the  bottom  of  the  spindle 
seat  there  is  a  f  or  J  hole  bored,  and  a  thread  tapped  in  it, 
and  when  the  spindle  is  set  in,  a  turned  washer,  having  a 
projection  set  down  into  the  spindle,  is  placed  as  shown  at  B. 
Then  the  long  bolt,  having  a  head  on  one  end  and  a  thread 
on  the  other,  is  set  in  and  screwed  down  tight.  By  this 
means  a  spindle  from  six  to  eight  feet  long  can  he  held  as 
firmly  as  if  there  was  an  arm  or  brace  attached  to  the  top  of 
the  spindle,  as  is  generally  done  with  spindles  that  have 
heavy  sweeps  attached  to  them. 

The  next  improvement,  and  one  that  is  worthy  of  note, 
is  Mr.  Swift's  (the  foreman  of  the  works)  rigging  for 
moulding  double-armed  pulleys,  entirely  of  green  sand.  The 
cut  represents  the  lower  arm  as  being  moulded.  The  draw  rim 
pattern  has  been  drawn  and  the  core  hoisted  up.  The  arm 
and  hub  pattern  is  then  drawn,  and  the  core  lowered  down 
into  place.  The  draw  pattern  is  then  set  back,  and  the  iron 
or  wooden  wedges,  Nos.  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  are  withdrawn.  The 
top  lifting  plate  is  then  hoisted  off,  the  loose  anchor  plates 


54  GKEEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

remaining  down,  after  which  the  upper  arm  and  balance  of 
the  pulley  is  rammed  up  in  the  ordinary  way.  Instead  of 
hoisting  these  cores  with  a  chain,  as  shown,  there  is  a  three- 
winged  cross  used. 

The  cut  D  shows  a  plan  of  the  lifting  plate  haying  one  of  the 
loose  anchor  plates  wedged  up  to  it.  I  think^that  the  advan- 
tage of  this  rigging  can  be  seen  without  further  description. 

The  next  and  lower  cut  shows  the  manner  of  moulding 
some  large  pulleys,  which  were  cast  in  segments  and  bolted 
together.  When  these  pulleys  were  completed,  they  were 
found  so  true  that  they  were  only  ground  on  the  face  by 
using  a  stone  suspended  by  a  rope. 

In  moulding  these  segments  there  was  a  full  pattern  used, 
but  the  outside  face  of  the  castings  was  formed  by  using  an 
iron  casing,  well  filled  with  vent  holes.  On  the  casing  there 
was  about  1"  thickness  of  loam  swept,  the  process  being 
shown  at  M.  While  this  is  being  dried  in  the  oven,  the 
inside,  arms  and  hub,  of  the  casting  is  moulded  in  green 
sand,  as  shown,  the  top  of  the  pulley  being  kept  about  even 
with  the  level  of  the  floor.  After  the  lower  half  of  the  seg- 
ment is  rammed  up  and  the  joint  at  the  center  of  the  arm 
made,  the  iron  cope  is  set  on,  rammed  up  and  staked.  The 
screws  or  bolts  that  are  for  holding  the  arm  and  face  pattern 
together  are  then  loosened,  and  the  face  pattern  drawn  back. 
After  this  the  cope  is  hoisted  off  and  the  arm  pattern  drawn, 
and  this  part  of  the  mould  finished.  The  cope  is  then 
lowered  down  to  place,  the  face  pattern  set  back,  and  the 
balance  of  the  mould  rammed  up.  The  face  pattern  is  again 
drawn  back,  and  this  inside  part  of  the  mould  finished, 
when  the  casing  is  taken  out  of  the  oven,  lowered  down,  as 
shown  at  P,  and,  after  it  is  pushed  up  against  joints  0  and 
T,  sand  is  rammed  up  at  the  back  of  it  to  the  level  of  the 
floor.  Covering  cores,  S,  are  then  set  on,  and  the  mould 
weighted  down  ready  for  pouring. 


IMPROVEMENT  IX   MOULDING   GEAR  WHEELS,  ETC.       55 


DEVICE  FOR  MOULDING  PULLEYS. 


5C  GREEN  SAND  MOULDING. 


VENTING  GREEN  SAND  MOULDS. 

VENTING  a  mould  with  a  vent  wire  is  done  to  allow  the  free 
escape  of  air  and  gases  in  the  sand,  together  with  the  steam 
generated  by  the  liquid  iron  coming  into  contact  with  damp 
sand.  New  sand  will  not  stand  ramming  as  hard,  and  needs 
more  venting  than  old  sand,  by  reason  of  the  additional 
life  and  gases  in  it.  Sand  mixed  with  sea  coal  or  minerals 
needs  still  more  venting  because  of  the  increased  gases. 
"Were  it  not  to  provide  for  the  escape  of  these  gases,  air,  and 
steam,  moulds  could  be  rammed  as  hard  as  iron,  and  have 
no  blowing  or  scabs.  The  bottom  of  moulds  often  requires 
the  most  venting,  because  it  is  the  part  which  takes  the 
longest  time  to  be  covered  with  a  body  of  iron,  and  when 
covered,  is  surrounded  mostly  by  the  iron. 

Plain  copes  are  vented  more  to  allow  for  the  easy  escape  of 
the  air  confined  in  the  mould,  than  for  the  escape  of  gases 
or  steam  in  the  cope  sand.  Plain  coped  work,  poured  with 
hot  iron,  requires  less  venting  than  if  it  were  poured  with 
chill  iron,  as  the  hot  iron  has  life  enough  to  force  the  air  up 
through  the  pores  of  the  sand.  If  the  iron  were  dull, 
the  compressed  air  at  some  spots,  not  finding  as  ready 
relief,  would  hold  back  the  iron,  and  by  the  time  the  press- 
ure (or  the  air)  escaped,  the  iron  would  be  frozen,  so  that 
when  the  casting  came  out,  it  would  show  smooth,  flat 
hollows  in  the  cope  part. 

There  is  very  little  difference  in  venting  plain  copes  for 
heavy  or  light  casting,  as  regards  the  closeness  of  the  vents. 
Light  work  should  be  vented  to  the  surface  of  the  mould,  so 


VENTING    GKEEN    SAND   MOULDS.  57 

as  to  allow  the  air  to  escape  rapidly,  while  heavy  work  that 
requires  a  pressure  of  air  to  keep  the  cope  from  being  drawn 
down,  should  be  vented  one  to  three  inches  from  the  surface. 
Copes  having  any  pockets,  flanges,  or  projections  in  them, 
require  such  places  to  be  well  vented.  Moulds  poured  very 
fast  require  the  same  treatment. 

I  shall  never  forget  an  incident  that  occurred  in  a  shop 
where  I  was  working  some  sixteen  years  ago.  It  was  before 
I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  study  cause  and  effect  in 
foundry  work.  A  moulder,  doing  some  of  the  best  work  in 
the  shop,  was  making  a  plain  cylinder  flatwise  ;  it  was  about 
two  feet  in  diameter  by  three  feet  long.  He  had  a  full  split 
pattern  with  which  to  mould  the  outside  ;  while  for  the  in- 
side the  core  wras  made  on  a  wooden  core  barrel,  full  of 
small  vent  holes,  with  nails  driven  into  it  to  hold  the  sand. 
The  core  barrel  had  iron  trunnions  on  the  ends,  which 
rested  on  iron  horses,  extending  out  so  as  to  hold  the  sweep- 
ing board.  The  sand  was  packed  with  the  hands  in  the 
barrel,  and  the  sweep  made  the  required  diameter.  The  first 
two  or  three  castings  that  he  made  were  lost,  on  account  of 
top  portions  of  the  core  lifting  up  off  the  barrel.  The  man 
did  everything  he  could  think  of  to  save  them,  using  longer 
nails,  making  his  sand  tougher,  and  using  very  thick  clay- 
wash.  Above  everything,  he  gave  great  attention  to  having 
the  vent  fired  while  pouring.  In  making  the  next  casting, 
through  some  excitement,  the  vent  was  not  fired  until  the 
mould  was  full.  This  casting,  to  the  astonishment  of  us  all, 
was  a  good  casting.  The  cause  of  the  previous  trouble  had 
been  in  firing  the  vent  before  the  mould  was  full,  causing 
an  explosion  which  started  the  core. 

There  are  moulds  that  require  a  bed  of  cinders  under  them, 

and  it  is  as  essential  to  know  at  what  time  the  vents  should  be 

fired  as  it  is  to  know  how  to  vent  the  mould.     Take  the  case 

of  a  mould  having  projections,  green  sand  core,  or  any  por- 

3"- 


58  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

tion  that  the  iron  does  not  cover  for  some  time  when  first 
going  into  the  mould,  it  is  here  sometimes  best  not  to  have 
the  vent  pipes  lighted  until  the  mould  is  full  of  iron,  and  for 
such  classes  of  moulds  pipes  of  a  large  diameter  are  better, 
and  at  least  two  pipes  should  be  connected  with  a  cinder  bed, 
since  by  so  doing  the  danger  of  the  vent  exploding  is  avoided. 
Two  outlets  will  also  cause  a  freer  circulation  of  air,  and  in 
so  dangerous  a  class  of  moulds,  the  vent  pipe  should  be 
located  where  there  will  be  no  danger  of  flying  sparks  of  iron 
entering  them  while  the  mould  is  being  poured.  When  the 
vent  explodes  before  all  the  bottom  surface  of  a  mould 
is  covered  with  iron,  the  pressure  of  air  and  foul  gas  created 
finds  relief  with  a  sudden  force,  and  presses  itself  into 
all  openings  and  available  space,  so  if  all  the  bottom 
surface  of  the  mould  be  not  covered,  such  explosion  will 
drive  the  air  and  foul  gases  through  the  vent  holes,  and 
be  likely  to  lift  or  start  any  portion  of  the  mould  that 
may  not  be  covered  with  iron  ;  the  result  of  this  would  give 
a  scabbed  casting,  or  would  start  a  mould  to  blow.  When- 
ever vent  pipes  are  lighted  for  an  ordinary  line  of  casting, 
they  should  be  lighted  at  the  top  of  the  pipes,  for  by  so 
doing  the  current  of  explosive  gases  is  drawn  from  under  the 
mould  to  the  pure  atmosphere,  where  they  can  escape  and 
burn  freely;  and  if  these  gases  cannot  be  drawn  to  the  top  by 
burning  shavings  at  one  side  of  the  top  of  the  pipes,  it 
is  best  not  to  fire  at  the  bottom  of  the  pipes,  but  wait  until 
the  mould  is  full  of  iron.  A  good  supply  of  vent  wires  of  all 
sizes  is  needed  by  every  foundry,  since  their  liberal  use  has 
saved  many  a  casting  that  would  otherwise  have  been  lost 
through  hard  ramming,  or  wet  or  inferior  sand. 


MOULDING    KETTLES. 


59 


MOULDING  KETTLES  WITH  A  DRY  SAND  COPE 
AND  GREEN  SAND  BOTTOM. 

ORDINARY  kettles  are  usually  made  in  loam,  haying  the 
bottom  cast  up.  The  engraving  shows  a  plan  of  casting  the 
bottom  down,  which  will  make  a  sounder  kettle,  that  will 
last  longer  than  one  cast  with  the  bottom  up.  The  size  of 
this  kettle  was  about  six  feet  diameter  and  three  feet  deep. 
The  outside  was  swept  in  the  floor  with  green  sand,  and  the 
inside  was  made  in  dry  sand,  swept  up  on  the  carriage  and 
dried.  The  cope  was  made  in  two  sections,  and  bolted  to- 
gether as  shown.  The  reason  for  doing  this  was,  that  the 


prickers  were  too  long  to  drive  and  make  a  good  plate  ;  also, 
the  ring  X,  formed  of  two  pully  patterns,  made  a  stiffer 
plate  than  one  cast  flat. 


60  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

In  getting  up  this  rigging  there  are  two  improvements  I 
made,  and  found  them  to  be  of  value.  The  first  was  the 
mode  of  turning  the  cope  over  ;  and  the  second,  a  plan  for 
closing  the  cope  down  true  on  the  bottom. 

Instead  of  sweeping  a  face  or  seat  on  the  bottom  and  a 
corresponding  one  on  the  cope,  to  fit  into  it,  as  is  usually 
done  for  such  work,  and  which  is  shown  at  J9,  I  had  a  hole 
cast  in  the  center  of  the  plate,  one-quarter  of  an  inch  larger 
than  the  size  of  spindle,  and  leaving  the  spindle  in  its  seat 
H,  the  cope  was  lowered  down  over  it,  and  when  within  an 
inch  or  so  of  being  down  to  its  place,  we  saw  that  the  space 
between  the  joints  was  alike  all  around.  Just  before  the 
two  joints  touched  each  other,  we  saw  that  the  spindle  was 
in  the  center,  as  shown  at  D  and  P.  In  doing  the  job  this 
way,  if  the  spindle  is  in  the  center  of  the  hole  when  the  cope 
is  swept  up,  you  can  rely  on  the  casting  having  an  equal 
thickness  all  around.  After  the  cope  is  lowered  to  its  place, 
drive  down  some  stakes  at  the  four  handles,  take  out  the 
spindle,  hoist  off  the  cope,  and  fill  up  the  spindle  hole  with 
green  sand.  Then  lower  down  the  cope  the  second  time, 
using  the  stakes  for  a  guide. 

This  plan  saves  work  in  sweeping  out  seats  or  guide  faces, 
which  usually  takes  a  deal  of  time,  and  when  done  are  not 
reliable,  especially  in  large  loam  work,  as  the  expansion  of 
the  plates  when  heated  in  the  oven  will  crack  and  displace 
the  brick-work  more  or  less,  causing  the  seat  to  be  out  of 
true. 

In  sweeping  up  the  cope,  coke  and  cinders  were  put  in 
around  the  prickers,  so  as  to  leave  about  ten  inches  of  sand 
on  top  of  it.  At  the  joint  where  the  short  prickers  are,  fine 
cinders  were  used. 

The  dry  sand  used  for  sweeping  up  the  cope  was  made 
very  open,  as  close  sand  will  not  make  so  smooth  an  inside. 
As  the  casting  was  only  1"  thick,  after  the  form  was  roughly 


MOULDING    KETTLES. 


61 


swept,  some  gaggers  were  driven  into  it,  so  as  to  hold  the  face 
of  the  mould  from  dropping,  should  it  get  jarred  or  cracked 
when  being  rolled  over. 

The  rigging  generally  used  for  rolling  over  such  copes  as 
this  is  shown  at  2,  3,  and  4.  The  trunnions  2  and  3  should 
be  cast  below  the  level  of  the  plate,  to  balance  the  weight  of 
the  sand  and  plate,  and  when  turning  throw  a  rope  over  the 


lifting  beam,  and  hitch  on  the  handle  4.  In  this  way  the 
plate  can  be  let  go  over  easier  than  if  left  to  turn  on  the  trun- 
nions alone. 

When  there  is  a  heavy  body  of  sand,  or  when  the  plate 
is  large  in  diameter,  the  following  plan  is  the  best  :  Hitch 
the  chains  into  the  handles,  7  and  8,  and  let  the  foot, 
K,  which  has  a  wooden  roller  bolted  to  it,  rest  on  a  strong 
plate  or  block  of  wood.  Then,  as  the  crane  is  hoisted,  the 


62  GREEK    SAND    MOULDING. 

roller  will  cause  the  plate  to  turn  over  with  ease  and  steadi- 
ness. Should  there  be  any  fear  of  a  jump  when  the  plate  is 
on  the  balance,  pnt  some  blocks  under  the  foot  K  to  catch 
it ;  also  have  some  men  with  long  sticks  to  reach  the  top 
handles  to  steady  it  over. 

Why  I  give  the  preference  to  this  plan  for  turning  over 
plates  is,  that  the  plate  is  resting  on  three  bearings,  which  will 
spring  it  less  than  when  it  is  turned  over  with  two  bearings, 
as  when  rolled  over  on  two  trunnions. 

In  sweeping  or  moulding  the  bottom  in  the  floor,  a  coke 
bed  was  laid  under  to  carry  the  vents,  and  the  sides  were 
swept  up  first,  a  space  being  kept  open  around  the  bot- 
tom for  the  moulder  to  stand,  and  for  the  sand  to  fall  into. 
When  the  sides  were  finished  the  bottom  part  was  swept  up, 
and  the  casting  gated  as  shown.  For  a  pattern  two  sweeps 
were  made,  one  for  the  bottom  and  one  for  the  cope.  The 
cope  plate  was  cast  2"  thick,  with  plenty  of  vent  holes  in  it. 


DROPPING   OF   GKEEN   SAND    COPES.  63 


DROPPING  OF  GREEN    SAND  COPES. 

THE  expression  "dropped,"  or  "fell,"  made  use  of  in  a 
foundry,  will  turn  every  moulder's  eyes  in  the  direction  in- 
dicated. Even  if  he  is  drawing  a  fine  tooth  gear  wheel,  ten 
chances  to  one  he  will  give  asquint  to  see  who  is  the  victim, 
if  it  knocks  down  every  tooth  to  do  it.  Why  ifc  is  that  this 
is  the  case,  is  only  known  to  moulders.  There  is  nothing 
that  will  cause  the  countenance  of  a  moulder  to  change,  and 
that  will  make  him  look  as  if  he  had  lost  his  last  friend,  so 
quickly,  as  to  have  all,  or  a  portion  of  the  cope  of  a  mould 
which  he  has  been  working  on  for  a  day,  or  perhaps  two  or 
three  days,  drop  out  when  he  is  closing  his  mould. 

If  the  cope  is  closed  by  hand,  this  may  be  caused  by  not 
lifting  it  level  and  steadily  ;  or  if  hoisted  with  a  crane,  the 
chain  may  jump.  One  or  the  other  of  these  is  about  the 
only  excuse  a  moulder  can  make  for  such  an  accident. 

The  foolish  manner  in  which  some  moulders  will  gagger 
copes  will  cause  them  to  drop  quicker  than  if  they  had  never 
put  a  gagger  in  them. 

Not  long  ago,  an  old  moulder  was  ramming  up  a  cope  that 
had  fallen  out  with  him,  and  going  to  see  what  was  the  mat- 
ter, I  asked  him  what  made  it  drop.  His  only  answer  was, 
"  It  fell  out."  I  told  him,  by  the  looks  of  things,  there  was 
no  question  about  that  part  of  it,  and  seeing  by  the  manner 
in  which  he  was  gaggering  up  his  cope,  he  did  not  know 
what  the  trouble  was,  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  what  he  set 
gaggers  in  a  cope  for  ?  He  answered,  "To  hold  the  sand 
up."  Taking  a  gagger  and  setting  it  in,  I  asked  him  which 


64  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

he  thought  was  the  heaviest,  the  iron  gagger  or  a  piece  of 
sand  of  the  same  dimensions  ?  Well,  he  thought  the  gagger 
was. 

I  then  asked  him  what  cross  bars  were  put  in  a  cope  for, 
at  which  point  I  saw  he  was  getting  indifferent,  and  told  him 
I  was  speaking  for  his  benefit,  and  still  insisted  on  the  ques- 
tion. He  answered,  "To  hold  in  the  sand."  Having  still 
hold  of  the  gagger  with  my  hand  (for  if  I  let  go  it  would  fall 
down),  I  asked  him  to  give  me  the  longest  gagger  he  had  in 
his  pile,  which,  when  set  in,  did  not  come  up  2"  between  the 
bars  that  were  cut  out ;  and  seeing  the  questions  had  an- 
swered my  purpose,  I  walked  away  from  a  man  who  was  evi- 
dently wondering  why  he  did  not  think  of  these  simple  ques- 
tions before. 

Copes  dropping  from  just  such  causes  are  every-day  occur- 
rences with  moulders  who  have  worked  a  life-time  at  the 
trade. 

In  ramming  up  copes  that  have  the  bars  cut  out  so  as  to  re- 
quire gaggers,  or  should  there  be  a  body  of  sand  to  be  lifted 
with  gaggers,  the  moulder  should  remember  that  iron  gag- 
gers are  heavier  than  sand,  and  if  he  wants  to  lift  a  body  of 
sand  with  them,  the  gaggers  should  be  long  enough  to  have 
two-thirds  of  their  length  up  between  bars,  as  it  is  the 
sand  rammed  between  the  bars  that  holds  the  gaggers,  and 
it  is  the  gaggers  that  lifts  the  hanging  sand  below  the  face  of 
the  bars,  in  some  cases.  When  there  is  over  two  inches  of 
sand  to  be  lifted,  there  often  should  be,  to  assist  the  gaggers, 
some  wooden  sticks,  or  "  soldiers,"  as  they  are  usually  called 
— a  name  that  must  have  been  derived  from  the  resemblance 
of  the  sticks,  when  in  position  against  the  bars,  to  a  com- 
pany or  regiment  of  men  in  line. 

I  once  came  near  getting  struck  by  a  green  German  helper 
because  I  told  him  to  go  to  the  pattern  shop  and  get  some 
wooden  soldiers.  He  looked  at  me,  and  wanted  to  know  if  I 


DROPPING    OF   GREEN   SAND   COPES.  65 

thought  he  was  a  fool,  and  to  make  matters  worse,  several 
men  working  near  were  laughing  at  him.  Before  I  could 
get  the  soldiers,  I  had  to  go  for  them  myself. 

In  using  soldiers,  they  should  not  have  too  large  a  sur- 
face on  the  end  that  comes  next  to  the  pattern,  for  when 
this  is  the  case,  the  sand  is  liable  to  drop,  or  be  drawn  down 
from  them  and  cause  the  casting  to  blow. 

When  using  soldiers  for  making  heavy  castings,  the  gaggers 
should  be  set  first,  and  then  a  good  inch  of  sand  put  over  them 
before  setting  the  soldiers.  When  set  in  this  way  they  can  be 
used  larger,  which  will  make  them  of  more  service.  If  there 
is  a  heavy  body  of  sand  to  be  lifted,  the  soldiers  can  be  nailed 
to  the  cross  bars.  Wooden  soldiers  will  lift  a  heavy  body  of 
sand  better  than  iron  gaggers,  which  can  be  proved  by  try- 
ing to  pull  one  of  each  out. 

When  soldiers  are  used  over  the  surface  of  light  castings, 
their  end  surface  should  not  be  over  f ''  square,  and  they 
should  have  a  good  £"  of  sand  under  them.  The  space  be- 
tween wooden  or  iron  bars  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the 
amount  of  hanging  sand  a  cope  will  lift. 

Copes  that  are  made  for  jobbing  castings  should  not  have 
the  bars  over  six  inches  apart,  and  the  bars  should  be  at  least  7" 
deep,  so  that  they  will  stand  to  be  cut  out  and  still  leave 
width  enough  to  be  gaggered. 

Copes  that  are  made  for  special  patterns,  if  the  castings 
are  light,  can  have  nails  driven  into  the  chamfered  edge  of 
the  bars  if  necessary,  doing  away  with  the  use  of  gaggers  or 
soldiers  for  lifting  or  carrying  the  sand.  For  plain,  ordinary 
light  castings,  if  the  bars  are  clay-washed  and  not  over  f-" 
from  the  face  of  the  pattern,  there  is  little  danger,  if  the 
sand  is  in  good  condition  and  rammed  as  it  should  be. 

If  the  sand  is  burned  much,  and  the  moulder  is  not  al- 
lowed to  put  in  new  sand  enough  to  renew  it,  he  will  have 
to  gagger  it  more,  and  should  select  the  thinnest  and  light- 


66  GREE2^   SAKD   MOULDING. 

est  of  gaggers.  He  will  also  have  to  ram  his  mould  harder, 
to  keep  the  sand  from  dropping  out  of  the  cope. 

There  are  moulders  working  on  good  work  who  will  make 
casting  after  casting  without  a  hole  caused  by  the  cope 
dropping  after  it  is  closed,  while  others  cannot  make  over 
two  or  three  castings  without  trouble  of  this  sort,  for  which 
they  always  have  an  excuse. 

The  way  some  moulders  ram  up  a  flask  will  be  cause 
enough  for  all  their  trouble.  They  will  have  some  8"  of  sand 
in  the  cope  for  the  first  ramming,  making  no  difference  when 
there  are  flanges,  pockets,  or  anything  else  to  ram  over  or 
around,  giving  every  piece  the  same  treatment  with  a  heavy 
rammer.  For  the  second  ramming  they  will  have  only  3"  or 
4"  of  sand  to  ram  through,  over  which  they  will  spend  as 
much  time  as  they  did  ramming  the  first  course  of  7''  or  8". 
For  a  finish,  they  will  go  over  the  top  in  a  loose,  careless  man- 
ner, and  then  vent  it.  This  may  be  a  quick  way  of  ramming 
up  a  cope,  but  it  is  far  from  being  a  reliable  way. 

In  ramming  plain  copes,  from  4''  to  5"  of  sand  is  plenty  for 
the  first  ramming,  and  which  should  be  even  and  solid. 
For  the  second  ramming  you  can  put  in  1"  or  8",  and  go  over 
it  in  half  the  time.  Then,  with  a  butt  rammer,  make  the 
top  solid,  for  it  is  the  butting  that  will  make  the  sand  com- 
pact between  the  bars,  so  as  to  hold  the  gaggers  or  soldiers 
in  a  firm  manner.  In  this  way  you  can  depend  on  having  a 
good  lift,  and  the  sand  will  stay  where  it  belongs. 

When  there  are  pockets,  flanges,  or  projections  to  be 
rammed  over,  a  light  hand  rammer  should  be  used  so  as  to 
ram  in  and  around  them  evenly,  and  not  get  the  sand  so 
hard  as  to  cause  blowing,  but  still  solid  enough  to  hold  the 
sand  from  dropping.  Should  the  pattern  be  so  constructed 
as  to  require  a  deep  cope,  the  same  treatment  and  precau- 
tion should  be  used  so  far  as  dropping  is  concerned. 


MOULDING   KETTLES  WITHOUT  A  PATTERN.  67 


MOULDING  KETTLES  IN  GREEN  SAND  WITH- 
OUT A  PATTERN. 

DIFFERENT  styles  of  kettles  require  an  entire  change  in 
the  manner  of  moulding  them.  In  some  foundries,  where 
they  have  a  standing  order  for  a  special-shaped  kettle,  they 
have  good  patterns  and  other  arrangements  for  making  or 
sweeping  them  up  in  loam.  In  making  kettles  of  almost 
any  form,  there  has 
to  be  more  rigging- 
up  and  expense  in- 
curred than  in  mak- 
ing ordinary  cast- 
ings. Loam  jobbing 
castings  are  worth 
more  than  green  sand 
ones,  on  account  of 
the  extra  labor,  time, 
and  fuel ;  and  in  a 
great  many  instances 
they  are  made  in 
loam  simply  to  save 
the  cost  of  patterns. 
One  reason  why  so  many  kettles  are  swept  up  in  loam  is  the 
expense  of  a  full  set  of  patterns.  Notwithstanding  this, 
however,  a  set  of  patterns  is  sometimes  made  for  a  single 
casting. 

The  engraving  represents  a  plan  employed  in  making  a 
kettle  which  was  wanted  in  a  hurry.     Instead  of  sweeping 


68  GREEK    SAND   MOULDING. 

it  up  in  loam,  it  was  swept  up  in  green  sand.  The  only  rig- 
ging needed  was  the  lifting  frame  X,  which  was  made  of 
pulley  rings  and  a  few  pieces  of  wood  for  the  bars  //,  H. 
The  holes,  Nos.  2,  3,  4,  and  5,  are  for  bolting  the  frame  up 
to  the  cope,  as  shown  at  T.  The  size  of  this  kettle  was 
7  feet  2  inches  at  the  top,  and  about  6  feet  at  the  bottom, 
the  thickness  of  which  was  2".  The  sides  tapered  in  thick- 
ness from  1|"  up  to  1",  the  depth  of  the  kettle  being  24". 
The  casting  was  poured  with  two  gates,  4^"  wide  and  1J" 
thick,  as  shown  at  W. 

The  cuts  P  and  0,  show  the  wooden  sweeps  laid  against 
the  spindle  for  sweeping  the  outside  and  inside  of  the 
casting. 

In  starting  to  mould  a  casting  like  this,  it  is  necessary  to 
have  a  coke  or  cinder  bed  under  the  mould.  At  B  is  shown 
a  seat  for  holding  the  spindle.  When  the  spindle  is  in  place 
and  the  sweep  P  fastened  to  it,  sweep  up  the  shape  of  the 
inside  as  shown  at  D,  and,  instead  of  shaking  on  wet  parting 
sand  to  make  u  joint,  it  is  best  to  fasten  paper  on  the  side 
with  small  nails.  Before  setting  the  lifting  frame,  there  should 
be  three  thin  flat  plates,  about  6"  square,  set  on  the  bottom 
to  keep  the  frame  from  sinking  into  the  face  of  the  mould. 

After  the  frame  is  rammed  up,  set  in  the  four  bolts.  These 
bolts  are  better  to  have  a  nut  on  each  end,  which  makes 
them  more  solid  than  having  a  hook  on  the  lower  end  ;  as 
when  the  weight  of  the  core  comes  on  the  hook  it  is  liable  to 
yield  and  crack  the  core.  The  top  of  the  bolt  above  the  nut 
should  be  squared  for  a  wrench,  to  hold  them  from  turning 
around  while  screwing  up  the  nut. 

At  M  is  shown  one  of  the  four  bars  of  iron  resting  on  the 
top  of  the  frame  and  wedged  under  the  wrought  iron  bar. 
This  makes  it  certain  that  the  melted  iron  will  not  raise  up 
the  core,  as  is  often  the  case.  As  it  is,  should  the  core  rise, 
it  would  have  to  lift  up  all  the  holding-down  rigging. 


MOULDING   KETTLES    WITHOUT   A   PATTERN.  69 


.'•*•' .'*••'•  '•*;  v- *'•".'•' 
•"•'•  ;*.*. •."•  •  ••*.  •  •'•  • 


:.'f  J  l"  "*•* 


70  GREEN"   SAND   MOULDING. 

When  the  core  or  inside  is  rammed  up  level  with  the  joint 
or  top  of  the  kettle,  then  set  on  the  cope,  and  after  it  is 
staked,  rammed  up,  and  vented,  lay  on  four  rails  or  bars  for 
bolting  the  core  up  to  the  cope,  as  shown  at  T.  Two  of 
these  rails  are  placed  side  by  side,  so  as  to  carry  the  weight 
of  two  bolts.  These  bars  must  have  their  bearing  on  the 
sides  of  the  flask,  and  be  raised  up  high  enough  to  clear  the 
wooden  cross  bars. 

Before  screwing  down  the  nuts,  place  some  heavy  weights 
on  the  rails,  say  as  much  weight  as  will  bend  down  the  bars 
equal  to  what  the  weight  of  the  core  would  bend  them ; 
and,  while  the  weights  are  on,  screw  down  the  nuts  solid, 
after  which  the  weights  can  be  taken  off.  Then  wedge  be- 
tween the  upright  bar  M9  and  the  lifting  bar,  and  also  all 
the  wooden  cross  bars.  Bolt  up  any  heavy  core  or  body  of 
sand  this  way,  and  you  can  depend  on  there  being  no  cracks 
or  openings  in  it. 

After  the  cope  is  lifted  off,  set  back  the  spindle,  fasten  on 
the  sweep  0,  and  dig  out  about  4"  of  sand  all  around  the 
sides  and  bottom.  This  will  leave  room  enough  for  packing 
sand,  and  sweeping  it  out  the  shape  of  the  outside  of  the 
kettle,  as  shown  at  R.  Kettles  12  feet  or  more  in  diameter 
can  be  made  in  green  sand  after  this  plan,  provided  the 
building  and  crane  are  strong  enough  to  lift  the  cope.  The 
casting  will  be  as  sound  and  solid  as  one  made  in  loam — if 
anything,  better  ;  as  in  moulding  kettles  of  this  style  in 
loam,  the  bottom  is  usually  cast  up,  while  this  one  is  cast 
down,  which  will  always  make  a  sounder  bottom. 


MOULDING   PIPES   WITHOUT   A   PATTERN.  71 


MOULDING    ELBOW   AND    BRANCH    PIPES 
WITHOUT  A  PATTERN. 

THERE  are  often  cases  where  a  party  wants  a  special  piece  of 
pipe  in  a  hurry,  for  which  he  is  unable  to  find  a  pattern. 
Almost  any  shaped  pipe  can  be  made,  at  very  little  expense 
for  pattern-making,  by  a  little  extra  work  in  the  foundry. 
Let  a  clear  sketch  of  the  pipe  as  wanted  be  given  to  the 
pattern-maker,  from  which  he  will  make  a  plate  pattern  1£ 
inches  wider  than  the  outside  diameter  of  pipe,  the  extra 
width  forming  a  bearing  for  the  sweeps,  X,  which  are  to  form 
the  core  and  thickness  of  pipe.  This  pattern  should  have 
pieces  nailed  on  where  the  flanges  are  wanted,as  shown  at  B,B, 
and  an  extension  of  five  or  six  inches  beyond  all  flanges  for  a 
core  print.  From  this  pattern  cast  two  open  sand  plates. 
These  cannot  be  counted  as  involving  extra  expense,  since 
they  would  have  to  be  made  if  the  core  was  rammed  in  a 
regular  core  box.  When  all  is  ready,  ram  the  core  sand  a  little 
larger  than  the  size  of  core  wanted,  and  take  the  smallest 
sweep  and  strike  off  the  core,  following  the  shape  of  the  plate 
when  possible,  and  when  not,  as  at  D,  use  the  trowel.  When 
the  core  has  been  gone  roughly  over,  sprinkle  it  with  water, 
and  sift  on  core  sand,  using  a  fine  sieve.  After  this  has  been 
packed  evenly  by  the  hands,  it  should  be  gone  over  evenly 
and  steadily  with  the  sweep  and  the  core  slicked  and  finished. 

The  sweeps  should  be  made  Ty  inch  to  -J  inch  larger 
than  the  size  required,  as  the  slicking  will  make  the  cores 
smaller. 


72  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

In  the  bottom  half  of  core  put  some  nails,  letting  them 
stand  out  as  far  as  possible,  and  have  the  thickness  sweep 
clear  them.  These  nails  will  help  to  hold  the  thickness  on 
when  the  core  is  turned  over.  The  top  half  of  core  will  not 
need  any.  After  the  core  is  dried,  wherever  metal  is  wanted, 
rub  on  loam,  or  other  mixture,  that  will  sweep  well  and  bake 
hard,  and  strike  off  with  sweep  to  size.  Have  as  many 
flanges  as  there  are  to  be  on  the  pipe,  turned  up  and  cut  in 
halves  ;  and,  to  make  sure  of  setting  their  faces  true,  it  is 
better  to  have  a  strip  of  wood  fastened  to  them,  as  shown 
at  A,  and  when  setting  the  flanges  (before  sweeping  the 
thickness)  drive  a  few  nails  through  this  strip  and  into  the 
core. 

The  loam  swept  on  for  thickness  of  metal  will  require 
drying,  unless  the  core  is  very  hot.  In  using  this  core  as  a 
substitute  for  a  pattern,  dig  a  hole  in  the  floor  (that  is,  if 
you  cannot  get  a  flask  to  suit),  bed  the  bottom  core,  set  on 
the  top  half,  and  rub  down  the  prints,  or  put  sand  between 
them,  till  they  caliper  round.  The  top  half  of  the  core 
should  have  hooks,  so  as  to  lift  it  up  with  the  cope.  "When 
the  cores  are  drawn  knock  off  the  thickness,  paste  the 
halves  together,  and  let  them  dry  while  finishing  the 
mould. 

If  the  pipe  is  to  be  one  inch  or  more  in  thickness,  another 
plan  would  be  to  saw  out  a  number  of  half-circle  pieces,  as 
shown  at  H,  place  them  over  the  cores,  4  inches  or  5  inches 
apart,  and  when  rammed  and  the  cores  drawn,  cut  out  the 
sand  between  them.  This  would  save  sweeping  the  thick- 
ness on  the  core,  and  in  some  cases  might  be  the  cheapest 
and  the  best  plan. 

Ordinary  size  pipe,  when  time  cannot  be  spared  to 
cast  plates,  may  be  swept  up  on  a  wooden  plate  made 
the  shape  wanted,  and  having  the  flanges  nailed  to  it 
to  keep  them  in  place.  Sometimes,  when  three  or  four 


MOULDING   PIPES   WITHOUT   A    PATTERX.  73 


74  GREEN   SAND  MOULDING. 

castings  are  wanted,  and  it  is  not  undesirable  to  make  a 
wooden  pattern,  it  is  best  to  make  a  core  expressly  for  use 
as  a  pattern,  not  sweeping  on  a  thickness,  and  when  the 
castings  are  all  made,  the  core  can  be  broken  up  and  the 
sand  used  again. 


RAMMIHG   UP  THE   TEETH   OF   GEAR   WHEELS.  75 


RAMMING      UP      THE      TEETH     OF     GEAR 
WHEELS  IN  GREEN  SAND. 

THERE  is,  perhaps,  nothing  requires  more  careful  and  even 
ramming  than  the  teeth  of  gear  wheels.  The  sides  of  almost 
any  casting  can  be  swelled  without  attracting  attention,  but 
if  the  face  or  sides  of  teeth  are  swelled,  it  will  appear  at 
once.  In  some  shops  great  attention  is  paid  to  having  each 
tooth  the  right  size,  and  in  some  instances  every  tooth  is 
tried  with  calipers  to  detect  swelling.  Moulders  will  some- 
times make  the  teeth  of  wheels  exactly  the  size  of  the 
pattern,  while  others  will  be  from  -fg"  up  to  TV  larger  than 
the  pattern.  Teeth  can  be  larger  than  the  pattern  and  yet 
show  no  signs  of  strains  or  swelling,  even  if  the  moulder  has 
been  very  particular  in  ramming,  for  if  he  did  not  ram 
solid,  being  afraid,  perhaps,  the  teeth  would  not  draw  well, 
would  be  scabbed  if  rammed  solid,  or  perhaps  from  his 
established  practice  of  light  ramming,  it  is  sure  to  occur.  It 
may  sound  odd,  but  there  are  few  moulders  that  ram  alike. 
One  will  ram  heavier  or  lighter  than  another,  and  their 
castings  apparently  show  no  difference,  but  if  they  are  tested 
with  calipers  and  straight-edges,  or  weighed,  then  it  is  easy 
to  see  who  rams  the  hardest.  It  sometimes  is  a  good  thing 
to  be  accustomed  to  ram  hard.  But  for  general  jobbing 
work  the  moulder  accustomed  to  ramming  lightly  will  have 
the  fewest  bad  castings. 

Some  moulders  can  ram  a  mould  light  or  heavy  as  they 


76  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

choose, but  they  are  few.  In  ramming  up  small  spur  teeth  from 
2"  pitch  down,  the  hands  only  should  be  used;  some  moulders 
will  press  the  sand  in,  while  others  throw  it  in,  and  raise  an 
inch  or  two  every  time.  It  would  be  a  hard  matter  to  de- 
cide which  is  the  best  plan,  since  the  moulder  who  pressed 
the  sand  in,  if  told  to  throw  it  in,  would  probably  make  the 
teeth  swelled,  because  he  is  not  used  to  making  small-teethed 
wheels  in  this  way.  In  making  very  small-teethed  wheels, 
where  there  is  difficulty  of  getting  the  sand  to  stand,  it  is  a 
good  thing  to  use  some  new  dried  moulding  sand,  and  after 
it  is  screened  very  fine,  dampen  it  with  some  beer  or  water, 
and  then,  with  a  wooden  or  iron  roller,  roll  it  back  and  for- 
ward over  the  sand,  until  it  is  well  mixed  ;  this  will  make  the 
sand  tough  and  give  a  good  body  to  it. 

Teeth  from  2"  pitch  up  are  generally  made  by  throwing 
in  2"  or  3"  of  sand,  and  then,  after  the  outside  is  rammed,  use 
a  rod  or  small  pin  rammer  to  rain  in  between  the  teeth. 
The  larger  the  pitch  the  more  solid  should  the  ramming  be 
made  ;  the  bottom,  or  first  course  of  ramming,  should  be 
rammed  the  most  solid.  "When  ramming  sand  between  teeth 
there  should  not  be  over  3"  for  a  ramming,  and  it  should  be 
rammed  even,  and  as  firm  as  the  sand  will  allow.  Before 
throwing  in  sand  for  another  course  of  ramming,  the  loose 
sand  should  be  all  scraped  away,  and  any  soft  sand  pressed 
down  by  using  the  fingers ;  this  will  help  to  avoid  soft  spots 
between  the  course  of  ramming.  Teeth  that  are  rammed 
solid  should  be  well  vented ;  facing  sand  should  be  used 
stronger  for  the  root  and  sides  than  for  the  face  of  the  teeth. 
A  plan  that  works  well  in  making  nice-looking  teeth,  is  to 
use  as  strong  a  facing  sand  as  the  wheel  will  stand  between 
the  teeth,  and  then  for  the  face  of  the  teeth  use  nothing  but 
fine-screened  common  heap  sand  ;  this  common  sand  on  the 
face  of  the  teeth  will  allow  the  pouring  of  the  wheel  with 
duller  iron,  and  still  retaip  *.  sharp  face  or  corners.  When 


RAMMING    UP  THE   TEETH   OF   GEAR  WHEELS.  77 

the  wheel  is  cleaned,  the  inside  of  the  teeth  will  peel,  and  by 
rubbing  coke  or  a  piece  of  grindstone  over  the  teeth's  face, 
it  will  result  in  fine-looking  teeth.  About  the  most  difficult 
class  of  wheels  to  make  are  bevel  gear  wheels,  since,  when 
bedded  in,  there  is  no  chance  to  ram  the  teeth,  as  may  be 
done  when  ramming  spur  wheels  ;  sometimes  in  large  bevel 
wheels  having  small  pitch  it  is  possible,  after  a  bed  is  made, 
to  lift  out  the  pattern  and  turn  it  over,  so  as  to  bring  the 
face  up,  then  fill  and  press  the  teeth  full  of  sand,  then  by 
handling  the  pattern  gently  roll  it  over  on  to  its  bed,and  pound 
it  down.  This  plan  works  very  well  when  the  teeth  are 
small  enough  to  hold  in  the  sand  when  the  pattern  is  turned 
over,  but  for  patterns  that  cannot  be  thus  managed,  the 
moulder  will  have  to  ram  up  the  teeth  by  having  a  bed  made 
the  shape  of  the  bevel  of  the  pattern,  from  2"  to  4''  below  the 
face  of  the  teeth,  this  space  affording  a  good  opportunity  to 
ram,  and  enabling  the  moulder  to  get  his  hand  underneath. 
Ramming  up  of  teeth  has  to  be  done  more  by  the  sense  of 
feeling  than  seeing  ;  in  this  the  moulder  must  rely  on  his 
own  mechanical  ability  as  to  the  amount  of  hardness  that 
teeth  will  stand  in  being  rammed.  The  harder  that  sand 
will  stand  ramming,  without  danger  of  scabbing  or  not 
drawing,  coupled  with  even  ramming  and  good  venting,  the 
better-shaped  teeth  will  be  produced  on  a  casting. 


78  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 


CASTING  LAKGE  PIPES  IN  GREEN  SAND. 

THE  plan  here  described  and  shown  for  moulding  large 
pipes  or  work  of  a  similar  nature,  involves  small  expense, 
being  in  that  respect  far  cheaper  than  loam  moulds,  espe- 
cially when  the  oven  is  not  large  enough  to  dry  the  moulds, 
and  they  have  to  be  dried  on  the  floor.  The  foundry  that 
made  these  pipes  had  an  order  for  about  a  dozen,  and  they 
were  wanted  in  a  hurry.  The  pipes  weighed  about  5,000 
pounds  each.  Their  diameter  was  nine  feet,  and  their  height 
five  feet,  and  the  thickness  of  metal  one  inch.  There  was  a 
flange  at  the  top  and  bottom  by  which  to  bolt  them  together. 
Elbow  pipes  that  went  with  the  plain  ones  were  cast  in 
loam,  and,  having  worked  on  both  jobs,  I  will  give  a  de- 
scription of  how  these  were  made  when  I  get  to  loam  work. 
In  making  the  plain  pipes  there  was  a  sheet-iron  curb  sunk 
into  the  floor  to  prevent  straining,  and  to  save  work  in  dig- 
ging and  ramming.  The  draw  pattern  was  made  of  wood, 
and  was  18"  deep,  with  four  strong  draw  irons  on  it.  In 
starting  to  mould  it,  a  cast  iron  ring,  XX,  is  set  level,  from 
which  a  level  bed  is  made.  This  ring  is  never  disturbed,  so 
that  the  leveling  by  straight  edges  every  time  a  casting  is 
made  is  avoided.  When  the  bed  is  finished,  the  draw  pat- 
tern is  set  down,  and  cores  having  the  bottom  flange  formed 
in  them,  as  shown  at  A,  A,  are  set  around  the  pattern. 
There  are  two  of  these  cores  that  the  runner  cores  are 
attached  to,  as  shown  at  B.  These  were  set  a  quarter  of  a 
circle  apart,  and  when  all  the  cores  were  set,  any  open  joints 
were  packed  with  hemp,  so  as  to  keep  dust  or  dirt  from  get- 


CASTING   LABGE   PIPES   IN   GKEEN   SAND. 


79 


'•''•/'-'  -'*<.••'••' .'A "'"//•? '.''. " 'V." /", */•  > '•/.; '; •••*'>  ;~C *V* '^ 

j> .'"J-VTxV.y^ y /?////' ^/, '*,".' '''/'v;x''-'x '<'•''• 


80  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

ting  to  the  flange.  The  facing  and  sand  was  shoveled  in  and 
rammed  solid  up  to  the  level  of  the  pattern,  and  then  well 
vented.  When  all  was  ready,  a  man  was  placed  at  each 
screw-handle.  The  cut  only  shows  two  screws  and  one 
beam  ;  but  as  there  are  four  draw  irons  needed,  it  takes  four 
screws  and  two  beams.  At  the  word  "  Around  ! "  each  man 
turns  his  handle  around  once,  doing  this  at  every  command. 
In  this  way  the  pattern  is  drawn  even.  This  is  a  splendid 
rigging  for  drawing  gears  or  anything  that  needs  to  be  drawn 
level  and  steady.  This  pattern  was  drawn  about  five  inches 
at  a  time,  until  it  was  raised  up  level  with  the  top  of  the 
curb,  which  made  it  the  height  required.  The  pattern  was 
leveled  at  every  drawing,  and  the  vents  carried  up  to  the  top 
by  venting  at  every  raising.  After  the  cope  was  rammed  up 
and  taken  off,  the  segment  D  was  bedded  all  around  the 
pattern  to  form  the  top  flange.  The  upright  runners  were 
rammed  up  in  the  green  sand,  and  had  a  core  placed  at  the 
bottom  to  prevent  any  cutting.  The  ramming  was  light 
towards  the  top,  so  that  the  iron  would  lie  quiet,  and  to 
prevent  any  straining  of  the  bottom  portion,  it  was  rammed 
more  solid. 


MAKING   AND   VENTING   BEDS.  81 


MAKING  AND  VENTING  BEDS. 

THERE  are  two  classes  of  beds — one  is  the  open  sand  bed, 
and  the  other  is  a  covered  bed.  When  a  bed  is  covered  with 
a  cope,  it  can  be  made  harder  than  a  bed  without  a  cope, 
since,  when  iron  is  poured  on  to  a  covered  bed,  the  air  in 
the  mould  is  more  or  less  compressed,  and  this  pressure 
causes  the  retention  of  the  gases,  steam,  and  air,  and  forces 
them  to  find  relief  by  passing  downwards  into  the  sand  be- 
low the  face  of  the  mould  ;  and  the  harder  this  underlying 
sand  is  rammed,  the  more  pressure  will  be  required  to  drive 
the  gases  and  steam  downwards.  When  the  sand  below  the 
face  of  the  bed  is  rammed  too  hard,  so  that  the  gases  cannot 
be  forced  downwards,  they  will,  when  the  pressure  becomes 
strong  enough,  pass  up  through  the  surface  sand  of  the  bed 
and  through  the  liquid  iron  in  the  mould  as  an  air-bubble 
passes  up  through  water.  Whenever  gases,  air,  or  steam 
have  to  pass  through  the  surface  of  a  bed  in  order  to  find 
relief,  there  will  result  scabbed  castings.  The  vent  wire  is 
used  to  make  a  proper  channel  for  the  escape  of  the  gases, 
air,  and  steam.  The  vent  wire  in  some  cases,  when  not 
used  understand ingly,  is  more  hurtful  than  beneficial.  For 
example,  if  a  moulder  venting  a  bed  directly  from  the  face 
surface  of  a  mould,  and,  to  keep  the  iron  from  getting  into 
the  vents,  only  rubs  the  palm  of  his  hand  over  them,  the 
holes  seem  to  be  all  stopped  up;  but  when  the  castings  come 
out  of  the  sand,  the  core  boys  appear,  picking  up  cast-iron 

vent  wires  to  make  core  rods  of,  and  a  scabbed  casting  is 
4* 


82  GREEIT   &AND    MOULDING. 

the  result,  caused  by  the  hot  iron  bursting  through  the 
thinly-covered  Tent  holes,  and  causing  them  to  be  all  filled 
with  iron ;  thus,  instead  of  the  vent  holes  carrying  off  the 
vent  from  the  surface  of  the  mould,  they  not  only  create  more 
gas  at  the  surface  of  the  mould,  but  also  in  the  interior, 
or  deeper  portion  of  the  sand.  Beds  thus  vented  would  be 
more  likely  to  produce  a  good,  smooth-skinned  casting  if 
they  never  had  a  vent  wire  used  on  them.  A  covered  bed 
generally  requires  to  be  vented,  since  this  class  of  beds,  if 
made  as  soft  as  open  sand  beds,  will  sink  from  the  pressure 
or  strain  of  the  iron,  when  the  mould  became  full,  upon  the 
bottom  bed,  and  thus  make  the  casting  a  deal  thicker  than 
it  should  be.  A  good  example,  showing  the  results  of  having 
too  soft  a  bed,  is  the  case  of  making  thin  fire  fronts,  that 
had  a  large  semicircular  flue-cleaning  door-hole,  two  firing 
door-holes,  and  two  ash-pit  door-holes  in  them.  Around 
the  outside  edge  of  these  fronts  there  was  a  heavy  orna- 
mental border,  and  around  all  of  the  door-holes  there  were 
chipping  strips  and  also  lugs  for  hanging  the  doors  on.  The 
thickness  of  these  fronts  varied  from  three-eighths  of  an  inch 
to  three-quarters  of  an  inch,  the  outside  measurements  vary- 
ing from  three  feet  by  five  feet  to  nine  feet  by  thirteen  feet. 
When  these  fronts  were  fitted  up, there  was  much  complaint 
because  the  fronts  were  swelled  all  over  the  surface  and 
crooked,  occupying  a  machinist  from  five  to  fifteen  hours 
longer  to  fit  up  a  front  than  would  have  resulted  if  the 
fronts  had  been  made  right.  Since  there  were  so  many  lugs, 
core  prints,  and  chipping  pieces  on  the  fronts,  the  moulders 
seemed  to  think  the  only  way  to  make  a  bed  to  mould  them 
on,  was  as  follows  :  Straight  edges  would  be  leveled  up, 
and  a  bed  the  full  size  of  the  front  made.  This  bed 
would  consist  of  all  loose,  soft  sand,  running  from  6"  up 
to  12"  deep,  and  leveled  off.  On  the  top  of  this  soft  bed 
the  pattern  would  be  placed,  and  then,  with  a  sledge- 


MAKING  AND   VENTING   BEDS.  83 

hammer  and  a  block  of  wood,  the  lugs,  border,  chipping 
pieces,  and  the  whole  thickness  of  the  pattern  would  be 
knocked  down  into  the  soft  bed.  It  was  a  quick  way  of 
bedding  in  the  pattern,  but  when  the  casting  came  out  it 
was  a  botched  job — a  disgrace  to  the  moulders  that  made  it. 
The  face,  in  may  places,  would  be  covered  with  scabs,  and 
the  casting  would  be  from  one-eighth  of  an  inch  up  to  half 
an  inch  thicker  in  some  places  than  others,  and  by  no  means 
straight.  This  style  of  sledge-hammering  down  a  pattern, 
and  the  making  a  bed,  is  one  that  should  very  seldom  be 
adopted,  as  it  causes  the  bed  of  a  mould  to  be  the  reverse  of 
what  it  should  be.  Since  the  surface  of  a  mould  should 
be  the  softest,  in  order  to  have  the  iron  lie  quietly  against 
it,  and  to  prevent  any  strains  or  swells,  the  under  portion  of 
the  sand  should  be  firmly  rammed.  In  the  above  case,  the 
hardest  rammed  sand  formed  the  surface  of  the  mould,  and 
the  soft  sand  was  underneath.  To  properly  make  a  bed  for 
this  class  of  work,  so  as  to  prevent  any  straining  and  swell- 
ing, and  have  a  casting  as  it  should  be,  the  following  plan 
can  be  relied  upon  :  After  the  straight  edges  are  leveled, 
dig  out  below  the  level  of  the  straight  edges  about  5" 
of  sand,  and  then,  with  a  butt  rammer,  go  all  over  the  sur- 
face ;  after  which  fill  up  with  good  riddled  or  mixed  sand, 
till  even  with  the  top  of  the  straight  edges,  then  butt-ram 
this  down  also.  This  will  make  a  solid  bed  of  sand  within 
about  one  and  a  half  inches  of  the  top  of  the  straight 
edges.  Before  going  any  higher  with  sand,  take  J"  dia- 
meter vent  wire,  and  vent  the  bed  all  over,  after  which, 
with  the  flat  of  the  hands,  close  up  the  tops  of  the  vent 
holes,  and  then  fill  up  and  level  the  sand  with  the  top  of  the 
straight  edges;  after  which,  if  facing  sand  is  to  be  used  upon 
the  face  of  the  mould,  or  common  heap  sand,  it  is  the  proper 
time  to  distribute  it  over  the  bed ;  then,  with  some  pieces 
of  wood  or  iron,  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  laid 


84  GKEEK   SAND   MOULDING. 

upon  the  leveled  straight  edges,  level  this  heap  or  facing 
smooth  and  even.  There  will  now  be  a  level  bed  of 
sand  f  "  above  the  top  of  the  straight  edges  ;  then,  after 
removing  the  g  inch  thickness  pieces  from  under  tlio 
parallel  or  strike  straight  edge,  rap  down  this  raised 
sand,  so  as  to  be  even  with  the  top  of  the  straight 
edges.  This  will  complete  the  making  of  the  bed ;  the 
fire  front  pattern  is  now  set  on  the  bed,  and  the  impres- 
sion of  the  lugs  made,  the  outside  corners  of  the  pattern 
being  staked,  and  the  pattern  is  then  lifted  oif,  and  holes, 
about  two  inches  deeper  and  wider  than  the  lugs,  are  dug 
out  of  the  bed,  and  all  filled  up  again  with  soft  sand.  The 
cope  surface  of  the  pattern  is  shown  by  chalk  marks  over 
all  the  lugs,  core  prints,  and  chipping  pieces,  and  the  pat- 
tern is  now  set  back  upon  the  bed,  and  all  the  projections 
pressed  or  hammered  down,  the  chalk  marks  being  a  guide 
to  show  what  portion  of  the  pattern  requires  knocking,  the 
bed  having  only  been  made  the  size  of  the  pattern  inside  of 
border,  which  runs  all  around  the  outside  edge.  This  is 
then  tucked  up  with  facing  sand,  the  joint  is  now  rammed 
up  and  made,  and,  after  the  cope  is  rammed,  a  gutter  is 
then  dug  on  the  two  longest  sides  of  the  mould,  about 
4"  below  the  level  of  the  joint,  and  a  long  -Jf"  vent 
wire  is  then  used  to  vent  under  the  pattern,  so  as  to 
connect,  and  thus  bring  the  gases  from  the  smaller  ver- 
tical vent  holes  to  the  outside  of  the  mould  or  gutter. 
Should  there  be  any  danger  of  a  run-out,  or  the  sand  chok- 
ing up  the  gutter  vents,  there  can  be  some  cinders  placed 
in  the  gutter,  and  then  filled  over  with  sand,  and  before 
going  to  cast,  a  few  holes  can  be  dug  down  to  the  cinders, 
BO  as  to  allow  the  vent  to  escape.*  The  difference  in  making 
a  bed  for  such  a  thin  casting  as  these  fronts,  and  a  bed  for 
thicker  or  heavier  castings,  is  very  little.  The  heavier  the 
casting,  the  more  strain  there  is  upon  the  bed  when  it  is 

*  If  many  castings  are  to  be  made  from  the  same  pattern,  a  coke  or 
cinder  bed  is  effective  in  saving  the  labor  of  using  the  long  £    vent  wire. 


MAKING   AND   VENTING   BEDS.  85 

being  poured,  hence  the  harder  should  be  the  foundation  or 
the  body  of  sand  within  one  inch  of  the  surface  of  the  bed; 
but  the  surface  sand  should  not  be  made  much  harder  for  a 
heavy  casting  than  for  a  light  one.  It  is  when  the  first 
inch  of  running  iron  is  being  raised  upon  the  mould's  sur- 
face that  the  scabbing,  caused  by  too  hard  surface  ramming, 
is  generally  done. 

Whenever  it  is  necessary  that  the  surf  ace  of  the  bed  should 
be  harder,  then  pounded  down  three-eighths  of  an  inch  of 
sand.  The  best  plan  is  not  to  make  the  surface 
first  higher,  and  then  ram  down,  in  order  to  have  it 
stand  an  increased  strain,  but  to  ram  up  firmly  within 
f  of  the  top  of  the  straight  edges,  instead  of  the  1J", 
as  above  stated  ;  and,  after  this  solid  bed  is  well  vented, 
and  the  surface  holes  closed  and  the  facing  sand  put  on ; 
then  use  the  f "  thickness  pieces  to  level  off  with ;  this 
would  make  1J"  thickness  of  soft  sand,  occupying  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  when  pounded  down.  Many  mould- 
ers make  beds  for  a  heavy  casting  by  ramming  up  within 
about  y  of  the  top,  and  then  putting  on  facing  sand, 
and  afterwards  either  pound  it  down  with  a  parallel  strike 
or  a  butt  rammer.  They  will  then  vent  directly  from 
the  top  surface,  and  to  keep  the  iron  from  getting  into 
the  vent  holes,  poke  their  longest  finger  into  every  vent 
hole  ;  after  which  they  go  all  over  the  bed  and  fill  the  de- 
pressions. If  these  practical  moulders  would  only  think 
a  moment,  they  could  not  help  seeing  that  the  object 
which  they  are  trying  to  accomplish  is  really  being  de- 
stroyed, for,  instead  of  the  vents  being  brought  near  to  the 
top  surface,  the  action  of  the  finger  has  closed  them  up,  so 
that  it  would  be  safe  to  say  that  there  were  no  vents 
within  1J"  of  the  top  surface.  Another  objection  to 
this  plan  is  the  irregular  resistance  of  the  bed,  since  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  make  a  bed  of  uniform  hardness 


86  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

when  one  spot  is  rammed  with  a  strike  or  rammer,  and 
another  with  a  man's  fingers.  It  takes  but  little  reflection 
to  see  which  of  the  two  plans  is  the  best.  A  bed  with 
its  vents  an  even  distance  from  the  surface,  and  the  bed  it- 
self of  an  even  hardness  all  over  its  surface,  two  important 
points  that  cannot  be  denied  as  elements  most  important  in 
order  to  make  a  good  reliable  bed.  Beds  for  open  sand 
castings  are,  as  a  general  thing,  never  vented,  because  there 
is  very  little  strain  upon  the  bed,  and  therefore  the  lower 
sand  can  be  left  unrammed, which  leaves  the  sand  so  porous 
that  the  gases  can  freely  escape  downwards.  When  a  cast- 
ing over  2"  thick  requires  an  exact  level  and  smooth  face 
upon  it,  it  is  sometimes  best  to  make  the  open  sand  bed 
having  the  lower  sand  rammed  and  the  bed  well  vented, 
similar  to  the  bed  described  for  making  the  fire  fronts. 
One  of  the  most  popular  classes  of  castings  made  in  open 
sand  are  furnace  plates  for  rolling-mills  and  blast-furnaces. 
When  a  foundry  has  a  quantity  of  this  class  of  work  to  do, 
it  is  a  good  thing  to  use  some  sharp  sand  mixed  in  with  the 
moulding  sand.  This  will  permit  the  beds  to  be  rammed 
lightly,  without  using  any  vent  wire  upon  then.  Some 
places  make  the  surface  of  the  bed  altogether  of  the  sharp 
sand,  and,  to  make  the  sand  peel  from  the  castings,  they 
use  water-lime  cement  dusted  on  and  sleeked,  like  blacking. 
The  lime  is  valuable  to  peel  a  casting,  but  the  objection  to 
its  use  on  nice  work  is  the  dead  color  which  it  gives  to  the 
skin  of  castings.  The  sharp  sand  used  can  be  either  bank 
or  lake  sand.  The  thinner  the  casting,  the  softer  should 
the  open  sand  beds  be  made.  For  plates  about  £" 
thick,  dig  up  the  bed  about  six  inches  deep,  and  leave 
it  soft ;  then  open  it  as  it  leaves  the  shovel.  If  the  sand 
is  lumpy,  it  should  be  riddled.  Level  this  sand  with 
the  top  of  the  straight  edges,  then,  if  the  sharp  sand  is 
used  for  the  face  or  surface  of  the  mould,  spread  it  over, 


MAKING   AND   VENTING   BEDS.  8? 

and  level  it  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  higher  than  the  top 
of  the  straight  edges.  Should  the  casting  be  from  one  to 
two  inches  in  thickness,  the  sand  should  be  leveled  three- 
eighths  of  an  inch,  after  which  the  whole  surface  should  be 
pounded  level  with  the  top  of  the  straight  edges.  When 
a  bed  is  struck  off,  as  is  sometimes  required  in  order  to 
make  a  very  smooth  surface  after  being  pounded  down, 
it  is  best  to  use  a  straight  edge  having  a  face  of  about 
one  inch,  and  the  striking  off  should  never  be  done  by 
pulling  the  straight  edge  along  the  sand,  but  it  should 
be  done  by  working  it  in  an  irregular  manner  across  the 
bed,  taking  pains  that  every  move  is  a  forward  one,  for, 
if  the  edge  is  allowed  to  go  backwards,  it  will  leave  marks 
upon  the  bed.  The  objection  to  striking  off  the  bed  smooth 
is  that  it  is  apt  to  start  the  surface  sand  if  not  done  right. 
One  great  trouble  with  castings  made  in  open  sand  is,  that 
they  are  generally  very  rough  or  scabby,  at  the  places  where 
the  iron  was  poured  into  the  bed.  To  prevent  this,  the  bed 
in  front  of  the  basin  should  be  made  harder  by  using  the 
flat  surface  of  a  piece  of  board.  When  there  is  a  large 
amount  of  iron  to  be  poured,  the'  portion  made  harder 
should  have  facing  sand  for  its  surface  ;  and  this  hardened 
portion,  whether  of  facing  or  common  sand,  must  be  treated 
with  the  same  process  of  venting  as  in  the  above  cases  for 
making  hard  beds. 

The  most  difficult  class  of  open  sand  casting  that  a 
moulder  makes  beds  for,  so  as  to  prevent  the  iron  from 
boiling  or  bubbling,  is  large  loam  plates,  that  require  long 
prickers  cast  on  them.  Sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  have 
prickers  three  feet  long,  and  in  making  a  bed  for  these,  it 
is  impossible  to  use  soft  sand  entirely,  since  the  strain  at  the 
bottom  portion  of  the  deep  prickers  is  such  that  the  entire 
upper  portion  of  the  bed  would  be  lifted  up,  so  that  the  in- 
tended prickered  plate  would  become  a  rough,  solid  mass  of 


88  GREEN  SAND   MOULDING. 

iron.  The  only  safe  way  to  make  a  bed  of  this  class  is  to 
lightly  ram  it  at  the  bottom  portion,  within  about  8"  of 
the  top,  and  make  the  remainder  of  the  bed  similar  to  one 
for  a  light,  thin,  common  plate  casting.  But  when  the 
long  prickers  are  as  near  together  as  five  inches,  the  plate 
will  bubble  more  or  less  in  any  event  when  being  poured, 
for  the  large  amount  of  gas  formed  below  the  surface  of  the 
bed  will  cause  this  on  account  of  the  depth  of  the  prickers. 
This  trouble  could  be  remedied  somewhat  by  making  a  coke 
or  cinder  bed  below  the  bed  proper,  and  venting  the  bed 
into  it  with  a  small  sized  vent  wire. 

A  good  illustration,  showing  the  effect  and  amount  of  gas 
that  is  formed  under  open  sand  plates,  was  when  a  number 
of  plain  plates  were  wanted  in  a  great  hurry,  and,  since  there 
was  not  much  shop-room  to  mould  them  in,  they  were 
made  very  close  together,  having  only  about  3"  of  space 
between  each  plate.  The  size  of  plates  was  6x4  feet, 
and  there  was  a  bed  about  6'  6"  wide  and  25'  6" 
long  made  to  mould  six  plates  upon.  They  were  poured, 
commencing  at  one  end.  The  first  and  second  plates 
were  successfully  poured,  and  the  crane  ladle  was  then 
refilled,  and  the  third  and  fourth  plates  poured  with 
some  bubbling  and  blowing;  but  when  the  fifth  and 
sixth  plates  were  poured,  they  boiled  so  hard  that  the 
iron  was  thrown  three  or  four  inches,  and,  as  it  became 
molten,  so  that  the  gas  could  not  escape,  its  force  raised 
the  middle  portion  of  the  plate  nearly  2"  from  the  face 
of  the  mould.  Had  they  been  vented  with  a  large  vent 
wire  straight  down  between  each  plate,  all  this  trouble 
would  have  been  avoided,  as  the  gas  could  thus  have  escaped, 
and  not  been  drawn  from  the  plates  already  poured  into 
the  one  that  was  being  poured.  It  might  be  asked  why 
the  bed  was  not  vented  underneath.  The  bed  in  this 
case  was  all  right,  and  soft  enough  to  stand,  and  required 


MAKING   AND   VENTING   BEDS.  $9 

no  venting,  as  the  pouring  of  the  first  two  plates  proved ; 
but  the  trouble  was  closeness  of  the  moulds.  And  thus,  by 
not  taking  into  account  a  simple,  practical  truth,  a  result, 
which  should  have  proved  a  success,  became  a  lamentable 
failure. 


90  GKEEK  SAND  MOULDING. 


METHOD  OF  MAKING  A  HEAVY  GKEEN  SAND 
CASTING. 

NEARLY  two-thirds  of  all  castings  lost  are  lost  on  account 
of  improper  methods  of  making  and  placing  gates  and  run- 
ners. The  best  method  of  gating  green  sand  moulds  is  to 
make  the  gates  as  long  as  practicable,  as  it  does  not  take  a  very 
long  time  for  iron,  when  running  directly  against,  or  on  the 
sand,  to  cut  or  wash  it  away.  It  is  a  good  thing,  where 
you  have  a  large  quantity  of  iron  to  run  through  a  gate,  to 
place  cores  against  your  pattern  where  the  wash  of  the  iron 
is;  or  mix  some  flour  in  the  facing  sand  for  the  dangerous 
sections,  and,  if  you  can  get  at  it,  put  in  some  nails,  having 
the  heads  even  with  the  faces  of  the  moulds. 

The  gate  and  runners,  and  mode  of  moulding  the  casting, 
as  shown  in  the  cut,  can  be  relied  on  as  presenting  a  safe 
plan  for  any  casting  of  a  similar  construction.  This  casting 
weighed  about  fourteen  tons,  and,  being  made  in  green  sand, 
the  utmost  thought  and  caution  were  required  to  make  a 
success,  as  the  casting  was  not  a  plain  block,  but  a  casting 
that  had  all  the  worst  features  of  a  green  sand  mould  to  con- 
tend with,  including  corners,  pockets,  projections,  and  flanges 
in  both  cope  and  bottom  part,  with  a  depth  of  over  four  feet 
in  the  ground. 

The  runners  and  gates  were  all  made  in  cores,  and  rammed 
up  with  the  mould.  Being  obliged  to  run  this  casting 
direct  from  the  air  furnace,  as  there  were  no  large  ladles, 
nor  chance  to  build  a  reservoir  to  hold  the  iron,  I  contrived 
the  runners  and  basins,  as  shown,  to  let  the  iron  into  the 


MAKING   A  HEAVY   GREEK   SAND   CASTING. 


91 


92  GREEK   SAND   MOULDING. 

mould,  should  it  come  faster  than  calculated  for.  At  the 
same  time,  if  any  lump  should  happen  to  choke  up  the  tap- 
ping hole  and  make  it  come  slower,  there  would  be  no  chance 
for  the  air  to  blow  out  at  that  gate  and  start  the  mould  blow- 
ing. As  the  iron  came  down  the  long  spout,  it  filled  up 
basin  1,  which  has  a  core  sunk  in  it  to  hold  back  the  dirt, 
so  that  it  is  all  clean  iron  that  goes  into  the  mould.  The 
basin  2  is  the  main  runner,  as  it  takes  the  iron  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  mould.  Should  the  iron  come  too  fast,  it  will 
flow  over  into  basin  3.  "When  the  basin  is  full,  lift  out  the 
iron  plug,  and  the  iron  goes  into  the  mould.  Should  the 
iron  come  slowly  afterwards,  so  as  not  to  flow  over  into  basin 
3,  and  the  mould  is  not  filled  up  to  the  level  of  this  gate, 
the  air  cannot  escape,  as  there  will  be  eight  inches  of  iron  in 
lower  angle  gates. 

"Where  iron  went,  into  the  mould,  there  were  set  cores, 
the  shape  of  the  pattern,  to  prevent  any  washing.  The  cut 
shows  how  the  projections  were  rodded  and  vented.  All 
corners  were  well  nailed,  and  rodded  with  small-sized  rods, 
also  vented  with  a  fine  vent  wire  directly  from  the  face  of 
the  mould,  which  is  a  good  plan  to  adopt  in  any  green  sand 
corners,  that  are  liable  to  scab,  and  the  sand  for  the  face  of 
projections  was  mixed,  one-third  sharp  sand,  and  rammed 
lightly.  Instead  of  having  wooden  bars  to  lift  the  pockets 
out  of  the  cope,  iron  frames  were  made  the  shape  of  each 
pocket,  and  bolted  to  the  cope.  The  facing  sand  for  the 
cope  was  mixed  one  to  twenty  of  flour,  and  when  the  cope 
was  finished  it  was  well  wet  with  molasses  and  water,  while 
a  fire  of  shavings  and  chips  was  made  under  it,  until  the 
surface  was  dried  like  a  dry-sand  mould. 


MAKING   A    HEAVY   GREEN   SAND   CASTING.  93 


GKEEN   SAND   MOULDING. 


IRON  AND  WOODEN  FLASKS. 

FOR  a  foundry  to  have  a  good  supply  of  flasks  is  one 
thing,  but  to  keep  them  in  repair  is  quite  another  thing. 
In  a  jobbing  shop,  especially,  it  is  a  serious  trouble  and  ex- 
pense to  keep  the  flasks  in  order  and  mated.  A  moulder  is 


at  any  time  liable  to  get  a  job  to  make,  for  which  he  will 
be  obliged  to  take  parts  of  several  flasks — perhaps  two  or 
three  copes  and  as  many  bottoms— and  bolt  or  nail  them 


IKON  AND   WOODEN   FLASKS. 


together.  Quite  likely,  to  get  what  he  wants,  he  gets  in 
parts  of  different  flasks,  and  another  moulder  discovers 
that  some  of  these  pieces  are  just  what  he  wants,  and  event- 
ually, instead  of  being  put  where  they  belong,  they  are 
dumped  down  indiscriminately  at  the  handiest  place.  Per- 
haps, to  complicate  matters,  the  foreman  will  order  some 
of  the  parts  of  a  half  dozen  flasks  put  carefully  aside  for 
future  prospective  use,  on  another  piece  that  may  be 
ordered.  In  any  event,  the  parts  of  different  flasks  get 
promiscuously  mixed,  and  the  result  is  that  some  moulder 
looking  for  a  cope  to  cover  a  pattern  bedded  in,  or  wanting 
a  bottom  to  raise  some  part  higher,  will  see  these  parts  so 
nicely  piled  up,  and  the  part  that  he  wants  at  the  bottom  of 
the  pile.  Sooner  than  go  for  the  man  who  has  charge  of 
the  flasks  to  help  him,  he  will  throw  down  the  whole  pile, 
smashing  pins  and  handles.  This  is  the  way  the  thing 
works  in  almost  every  regular  jobbing  foundry. 

A  foundry  for  special  work  does  not  require  much  over 
half  the  room  that  a  jobbing  foundry  does,  for  storing 
flasks.  In  a  foundry  designed  and  equipped  for  special  work, 
there  is  generally  a  large  number  of  flasks  for  the  same  pat- 
tern ;  and  when  any  pattern  is  brought  into  the  foundry  to  be 
made,  the  foreman  can  send  for  the  required  flask,  without 
spending  two  or  three  hours'  time  in  looking  for  stray  copes 
and  bottoms.  Their  flasks  can  be  piled  up  high,  because 
they  do  not  have  to  be  disturbed  to  get  a  part  of  a  flask 
from  the  bottom  of  the  pile.  In  such  shops  men  will  work 
months — sometimes  years — with  the  same  set  of  flasks, 
whereas,  in  some  jobbing  shops,  two  weeks  would  be  the 
limit. 

In  a  jobbing  shop,  as  a  rule,  the  moulders,  when  going  to 
work  in  the  morning,  have  no  idea  what  job  they  will  start 
on,  or  the  number  of  new  jobs  they  may  be  called  on  to 
make  before  getting  home  again. 


96 


GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 


An  assortment  of  miscellaneous  jobbing  flasks  should  have 
plenty  of  ground  room,  and  the  piles  should  be  made  open 
and  not  very  high,  so  that  a  man  looking  for  a  flask .  will  be 
able  to  see  every  part  without  having  to  throw  down  a  pile. 
There  should  be  some  one  in  charge  of  the  flasks,  and  he 
should  report  any  man  known  to  ill-use  them,  and  then,  if 
the  foreman  does  his  duty,  there  will  be  no  need  of  moulders 
losing  their  night's  sleep  worrying  over  a  drop-out  caused 
by  loose  bars,  crooked  pins,  or  shaky  flasks.  Of  course  this 
does  not  mean  that  a  jobbing  shop  cannot  be  run  without 
having  an  acre  or  two  to  pile  up  flasks  on.  There  are  plenty 


•• 


1 

•^ 

1 

_N 

»• 

5 

of  shops  doing  a  large  business  that  do  not  have  much 
ground  room,  but  have  to  hoist  their  flasks  on  the  top  of 
flat  roofs  ;  their  very  large  ones  are  never  taken  out  of  the 
shop. 

In  this  country,  wooden  flasks  are  used  more  than  in 
foreign  countries.  "When  foreign  moulders  come  to  work  in 
America,  they  wonder  at  so  many  wooden  flasks  being  used. 
They  are  sometimes  afraid  to  start  to  work  with  them,  and 
if  they  have  a  run-out,  or  drop-out,  the  old  wooden  flasks 
get  the  blame. 


IRON   AND   WOODEN   FLASKS.  97 

Wooden  and  iron  flasks  each  have  their  especial  advant- 
ages :  the  iron  one  is  the  most  durable,  is  stiffer,  and  can  be 
relied  on  in  matters  of  dropping,  run-outs,  or  strained  cast- 
ings. Take  a  large  plate  full  of  holes,  cast  one  with  a  wooden, 
and  one  with  an  iron  flask,  and  then  look  at  the  difference 
in  the  two  castings.  The  one  made  in  the  wooden  flask, 
with  all  the  time  spent  wedging  down  the  bars,  and  blocking 
up  to  get  the  weights,  or  screw-down  binders  on,  may  be 
from  j"  to  -J-"  thicker  in  the  middle  than  it  should  be,  and 
as  for  the  holes,  they  are  not  to  be  seen  on  the  cope  side 
at  all. 

Wooden  flasks  have  also  their  advantages.  They  are 
handy  to  lift  and  carry,  and  better  adapted  for  a  dull 
foundry  hatchet,  to  carve  out  the  bars,  so  as  to  admit  of  the 
cope  being  used  for  various  castings.  After  being  pitched 
around  eight  or  nine  times,  they  will  also  save  the  cupola 
man  lots  of  time  and  labor  in  hunting  up  kindling-wood  to 
start  his  fire  with. 

There  are  more  iron  flasks  used  in  this  country  at  present 
than  were  formerly  used.  Some  shops  that  have  a  standard 
of  work  can  rig  up  iron  flasks  with  loose  bars  and  side 
pieces,  that  can  be  bolted  together  to  answer  the  purpose 
for  making  a  variety  of  castings. 

The  sketches  represent  the  principle  of  construction,  etc., 
of  plain  iron  flasks,  such  as  every  jobbing  shop  should  or 
could  use.  The  smallest  ones,  without  bars,  are  very  light 
and  handy  for  small  jobbing  castings.  The  second  size  is  a 
cope  about  as  heavy  as  two  men  can  lift  off.  The  lug  and 
pin,  //  H,  should  be  attached  to  special  flasks  where 
parts  of  the  casting  are  to  be  made  in  the  copes.  This  pin 
is  expensive,  as  it  involves  considerable  machine-shop  labor 
to  make,  as  in  turning  the  pins  and  boring  the  holes,  but  it 
will  pay  for  itself  in  a  short  time,  when  used  for  making 
pulleys,  etc. 
5 


98 


GREEN    SAND   MOULDING. 


For  dry  sand  work  that  requires  to  be  closed  very  true, 
the  flasks  should  have  three  or  four  pins.  The  pins  may 
sometimes  need  to  be  one  foot  in  length,  so  as  to  close  true 
over  cylinder  port  cores  and  the  like.  The  pin  shown,  cast 
on  the  small  flasks,  costs  very  little  to  fit  up,  and  is  very 
good  for  a  plain  class  of  work. 

The  large  iron  flask  shown  possesses  several  advantageous 


*c 


JJ 


10  U 


features.  The  round  trunnion  is  a  common  but  very  handy 
thing  for  turning  over  copes,  so  as  to  get  to  finish  them 
easily.  This  may  be  cast  on,  the  flask  having  handles,  also, 
if  required.  The  handle,  IF,  is  of  wrought  iron,  cast  into 
the  flask,  which  makes  a  neat  lifting-handle.  It  is  cast  in 
on  a  slant,  so  as  to  be  in  a  line  with  the  chains  when  lifting. 
The  handle  on  the  opposite  side  is  cast-iron,  and  should  be 


IRON   AXD    WOODEN  FLASKS. 


99 


large  for  strength,  but  should  be  made  convenient  for  hook- 
ing to.  Guides,  as  shown  at  X,X9  should  be  cast  on  for  driv- 
ing down  stakes  alongside  of.  The  loose  plate  or  bar  Y  can 
be  bolted  to  the  flanges,  should  the  flask  require  to  be  made 
longer,  or  to  have  a  piece  or  pocket  bolted  on  for  any  pur- 
pose. To  accomplisn  the  same  purpose,  the  whole  flask  is 
sometimes  cast  together,  and  one  end  cut  out  about  f ",  so 
there  will  be  no  bearing  on  the  joint,  and  when  the  flask  is 
wanted  longer,  a  section  is  bolted  against  its  flat  surface. 
The  objection  to  this  is,  that  the  end  cut  out  is  never  solid 
on  the  joint  when  the  flask  is  used  without  the  extension, 
and  when  there  is  a  piece  bolted  on  it,  the  joint  forms  a  flat 
clumsy  surface  for  the  sand  to  hang  to. 

The  flasks  shown  are  intended  for  a  plain  clacs  of  green 
eand  work,  such  as  almost  every  jobbing  foundry  has  to  do. 
Deep  flasks,  in  some  instances,  are  better  for  being  made  in 
sections,  and  bolted  together.  Iron  flasks  for  dry  sand 
work  are  better  if  made  \"  thicker  than  shown  in  the  cuts, 
as  they  have  to  stand  rougher  handling. 

The  cut  of  a  wood- 
en   flask    shows    a 
good  reliable  way  of 
making  a  stiff  flask 
for  a  medium  class 
of  work.   The  angle 
piece  B  is  cast-iron, 
and  is  a  good  thing 
to  put  in  the  corners 
of  large    flasks   for 
bolting  the  sides  to- 
gether. This  angle  would  be  better  if  a  small  bracket  was  cast 
on  the  inside  corners,  so  as  to  make  it  stronger.     D  shows  a 
trunnion  that  can  be  bolted  to  a  flask,  to  roll  it  over,  or  the 
two  ends  could  be  entirely  of  iron,  with  the  trunnions  cast 


100 


GREEN    SAND    MOULDING. 


on,  and  wooden  sides  bolted  to  them.  When  bolts  will  not 
hold  a  large  flask  stiff  enough,  cast-iron  bars  are  sometimes 
used  instead  of  wooden  ones,  having  flanges  cast  on  to  bolt 
the  sides  and  bars  together.  The  handle  R  is  wrought  iron, 
to  come  under  the  bottom  of  the  cope,  and  has  two  bolt- 
holes  in  it.  This  makes  a  reliable  lifting  hook  for  very 
heavy  copes. 

Should  a  moulder  wish  to  know  the  weight  of  the  sand  he 
has  rammed  up  in  a  flask,  in  order  to  tell  if  the  crane  or 
chain  is  strong  enough  to  lift  it,  he  can  remember  that  one 
cubic  foot  of  sand  when  rammed,  and  of  the  right  temper, 

weighs    about    one  hun- 
'dred  pounds. 

The  bars  can  be  far- 
ther apart  in  deep  copes 
than  in  shallow  ones,  for 
green  as  well  as  dry  sand. 
VThe  sides  of  wooden  copes 
/If or  large  flasks  should 
/be  made  of  3"  to  V' 
planks.  Hard  pine  will 
last  longer  than  soft  pine, 
especially  if  pounded  much  with  a  sledge-hammer,  which 
should  never  be  done  if  there  are  wooden  mallets  to  be  had. 
In  making  iron  flasks  the  best  iron  should  be  used,  as  a  good 
flask  is  an  essential  feature  in  turning  out  good  castings. 
They  should  receive  care  and  proper  handling,  otherwise,  in 
a  short  time,  a  new  flask  will  be  only  fit  for  kindling-wood 
or  scrap. 


SKIMMING   AND   FLOW-OFF   GATES.  101 


SKIMMING  AND  FLOW-OFF  GATES. 

As  melted  iron  has  more  or  less  dirt  or  impurities,  which 
keep  rising  upon  the  surface  of  the  metal,  more  especially 
while  it  is  exposed  to  the  air,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  have  the  runners  and  gates  made  so  as  to  collect  the  dirt 
as  much  as  possible  before  the  metal  enters  the  mould,  to  in- 
sure a  clean,  solid  casting.  The  gate  shown  is  an  improve- 
ment on  the  common  skimming  gate,  as  there  is  one  more 
riser  or  dirt-catcher  in  it,  into  which  the  iron  goes  circling 
round,  whirling  the  dirt  up  to  the  top.  It  is  astonishing 
how  little  thought  some  moulders  have  about  the  principle 
of  skimming  gates.  Go  into  almost  any  foundry,  and  you 
will  see  men  making  or  working  on  good  work,  setting  the 
largest  runner  for  the  pourer,  and  the  smallest  for  the  dirt- 
catcher  ;  or  they  will  cut  the  gate  that  goes  into  the  mould 
larger  than  any  other  portion  of  the  runners  or  gates.  I  have 
also  seen  skimming  gates  cut  when  the  man  cutting  them 
did  not  know  which  one  of  the  upright  runners  was  the  one 
to  pour  into.  This  showed  that,  of  course,  he  had  given  no 
thought  to  the  subject.  There  were,  in  the  instance  referred 
to,  two  upright  runners,  with  a  channel  cut  between  them, 
and  he  thought  he  was  cutting  a  skimming  gate.  In  the  ac- 
companying cut  is  shown  a  crank  for  an  engine,  bedded  in 
the  floor.  To  save  work,  the  face  is  cast  up,  and  it  requires 
the  greatest  of  care  as  regards  clean  iron  going  into  the 
mould.  The  gate  that  leads  into  the  mould  is  cut  the  small- 
est of  any,  so  that  the  rest  of  the  gates  and  runners  may  be 
kept  full  of  iron.  The  dirt  flows  up  to  the  top  of  the  risers 


102  GBEEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

A  and  B.  In  this  way  clean  iron  goes  into  the  mould.  Ris- 
ers A  and  B  have  no  connection  cut  in  the  cope  part,  it 
being  cut  in  the  bottom,  from  B  to  A,  and  on  a  circle,  so 
that  the  iron  will  whirl  around  in  the  riser  A.  The  runner 
and  pouring  gate  D  are  connected  with  B  in  the  cope  part, 
but  can  be  connected  in  the  bottom  part,  like  A  and  B, 
should  it  not  be  practicable  to  connect  in  the  cope.  The 
pouring  runner  D  is  large  enough  to  keep  the  lower  gate  full 
of  iron;  and  the  two  dirt-holders  or  risers  are  larger  by  one- 
third  than  the  pouring  runner. 

The  pouring  basin  M,  if  for  a  very  heavy  casting,  could  be 
made  longer,  and  a  skimming  core  added,  as  shown  in  a  pre- 
vious article  on  "  Making  a  Heavy  Green  Sand  Casting." 
All  the  runners  should  be  rammed  even,  so  that  there  are  no 
soft  spots  in  them,  and  all  corners  or  edges  of  the  gates  and 
runners  made  rounding,  so  that  the  running  iron  can  have 
no  chance  to  wash  sand  into  the  casting. 

The  numbers  3  and  4  show  a  good  plan  of  risers  to  take 
the  strain  off  the  mould  when  pouring.  The  riser  3  is  con- 
nected with  the  pouring  gate,  and  a  clay  ball  stops  the  iron 
from  flowing  away  until  the  mould  is  full.  It  then  flows 
down  the  outlet,  under  the  joint  of  the  flask.  The  connec- 
tions between  3  and  4  can  be  cut  down  as  low  as  3  inches, 
which  leaves  very  little  strain  on  the  mould.  This  is  also 
used  independently  ;  but  cutting  the  riser  from  the  mould, 
and  having  three  or  four  of  them,  causes  a  sudden  pressure 
on  the  cope  to  be  greatly  released.  As  a  good  skimming  gate 
is  essential  in  making  a  clean  casting,  so  are  good  risers 
necessary  to  keep  a  casting  from  being  strained.  In  this  re- 
spect they  are  of  equal  importance,  and  too  much  attention 
should  not  be  given  to  one  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other. 


SKIMMIKQ   AND   FLOW-OFF   GATES. 


103 


LONGITUDINAL  SECTION 


PLAN  &  SECTION 


104  GKEEN   SAND   MOULDING. 


MAKING  A   GREEN  SAND  BASIN— RUNNERS 
AND  GATES. 

IN  making  castings,  the  basin,  runners,  and  gates  are  often 
responsible  for  their  being  bad.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
whole  art  of  moulding  that  requires  more  care  than  the  mak- 
ing of  these  parts  of  a  mould.  A  moulder  may  slight  the 
rest  of  his  mould  and  have  his  casting  come  out  all  right,  but 
any  carelessness  or  ignorance  in  making  the  basins,  runners, 
or  gates,  will  almost  always  cause  trouble. 

In  pouring  a  mould,  the  iron  first  drops  from  the  ladle 
into  the  basin  ;  from  the  basin  it  runs  with  more  or  less  of  a 
rush  into  the  upright  runners,  from  the  runners  into  the 
gates,  and  from  the  gates  into  the  mould.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  that  portion  of  the  mould  which  the  iron  enters  or 
drops  into,  there  is  very  little  agitation  of  the  metal  as  it 
gradually  rises. 

In  the  cut  shown,  H  is  the  cavity  into  which  the  iron  first 
drops  as  it  is  poured  out  of  the  ladle ;  Y  is  the  runner 
through  which  the  iron  flows  to  the  gate  K,  from  which  it 
runs  into  the  mould. 

For  pouring  five-ton  ladles,  the  width  of  a  basin  should 
not  be  less  than  18",  and  the  depth  should  be  9".  The  bot- 
tom of  the  basin,  where  the  iron  first  drops,  should  not  be  less 
than  2"  deeper  than  at  8.  From  8  down  to  the  runner,  Y, 
there  should  be  an  easy  incline  ;  the  longer  the  basin  the 
more  incline  there  should  be.  This  assists  the  iron  in  flow- 
ing, making  sure  of  keeping  the  runners  full,  and  also  pre- 
vents any  iron  remaining  in  the  basin  when  the  mould 


MAKING   A   GREEN   SAND   BASIN.  105 

is  full,  except  that  which  is  in  the  cavity  that  is  formed  for 
the  iron  to  drop  from  the  ladle  into.  This  cavity  is  pro- 
vided for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  cutting  of  the  bot- 
tom of  the  basin,  which  would  be  the  case  was  this  part 
made  even  with  the  rest.  This  cavity,  which  is  soon  filled, 
allows  the  iron  to  fall  into  iron  instead  of  on  sand.  When 
this  cavity  is  filled,  the  iron  runs  easily  from  it  to  the  mould, 
lessening  the  danger  of  cutting,  and  allowing  the  iron  to  be 
rushed  in,  so  as  to  keep  the  runners  full. 

For  the  pouring  of  larger  ladles  than  five  tons,  the  width 
of  basins  should  be  from  18"  up  to  30",  and  the  depth  from 
9"  to  15". 

When  making  green  sand  basins,  the  sand  should  be  well 
mixed  and  riddled  before  it  is  shoveled  into  the  basin  box. 
The  careless  use  of  unmixed  sand  for  making  basins  often 
causes  bad  castings. 

There  is  one  way  of  making  basins  that  many  moulders 
follow,  but  which  a  careful  moulder  will  never  employ  ;  that 
is,  they  will  shovel  in  some  sand,  and  form  the  shape  of  the 
basin  by  packing  up  the  sides  with  handfuls  of  sand.  This 
makes  a  loose  basin,  and  one  that  is  liable  to  cause  trouble. 

To  make  a  reliable  basin,  the  box  should  first  be  evenly 
rammed  full  of  sand,  after  which  the  shape  of  the  basin  can 
be  dug  out  with  a  shovel  or  trowel,  thereby  giving  a  firm, 
solid  basin,  as  far  as  the  ramming  of  the  sand  is  concerned. 
The  trouble  with  basins  usually  commences  at  the  bottom, 
and  is  caused  by  the  falling  iron  cutting  the  sand  or  letting 
the  iron  get  to  the  wooden  bars.  A  good  moulder  will  never 
have  less  than  3"  of  sand  between  the  bottom  of  his  basin 
and  the  wooden  bars. 

There  are  two  or  three  ways  that  the  bottom  of  green  sand 

basins  may  be  secured  so  as  to  prevent  cutting  when  used  to 

pour  heavy  castings.     The  first  is  to  stick  nails  all  over  the 

bottom,  having  the  heads  even  with  the  surface  of  the  sand. 

5* 


106  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

The  second  and  third  ways  are  to  set  in  a  flat  core,  or  two 
fire  or  common  bricks  to  form  the  bottom.  In  either  of  the 
last  ways  there  is  very  little  danger  of  the  falling  iron  causing 
any  trouble. 

For  the  pouring  of  heavy  castings  it  is  best,  when  possible, 
to  build  basins  outside  the  copes  instead  of  on  the  top  of 
them,  for  the  reason  that  high  heads  can  thus  be  avoided, 
thereby  not  having  so  much  strain  upon  the  mould.  The 
cut  of  basin  shown  is  one  thus  made.  In  this  basin 
will  be  noticed  a  coke  or  cinder  bed  placed  underneath  the 
basin,  which  is  a  very  good  plan  for  large  surface  basins,  as 
it  will  carry  off  the  gases  and  steam,  and  thereby  prevent 
any  boiling  or  scalding  of  the  bottom  of  the  basin.  Some- 
times dry  sand  basins  are  made,  and  hoisted  from  the  oven 
carriage  and  placed  where  wanted  for  the  pouring  of  very 
heavy  castings.  Some  moulders  prefer  to  use  them  instead  of 
green  sand  basins. 

Another  part  of  a  green  sand  basin  that  often  gives  way 
while  the  mould  is  being  poured,  is  the  front,  X.  Sometimes 
a  moulder  will  cut  out  the  front  as  if  he  were  trying  to  make 
the  end  at  exact  right  angles  with  the  sides  of  the  basin,  as 
shown  at  P.  This  may  do  well  enough  for  small  basins,  but 
for  large  ones  it  should  never  be  done.  The  safest  way  is 
to  form  this  end  as  shown  at  W9  having  the  end  very  nearly 
a  circle.  Sometimes  it  is  best,  in  the  instance  of  very  large 
basins,  to  have  this  end  of  the  box  full  of  nails,  driven  so  as 
to  stick  out  two  or  three  inches,  to  have  a  good  hold  of  the 
sand;  that  is,  when  wooden  basin  boxes  are  used,  but  for 
iron  boxes  (which,  when  possible,  should  be  given  the  pref- 
erence), the  front  should  be  secured  by  being  roded. 

How  often  have  moulders  seen  castings  lost  by  having  the 
wooden  basin  box  spread  open,  which  would  have  been  pre- 
vented had  there  been  some  narrow  strips  of  wood  nailed 
across  the  bottom,  as  shown  at  B ;  or  cast  or  wrought 


MAKING   A   GREEN   SAND   BASIN. 


107 


108  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

iron  clamps  used  to  hold  the  sides  together,  as  shown  at 
EEE. 

Again,  the  iron  will  burst  out  from  underneath  the  box, 
from  the  lack  of  weights  or  wedges  to  hold  it  down. 

There  arc  very  few  moulders  that  can  be  trusted  with  the 
making  of  a  basin  to  pour  a  large  casting  with.  They  think 
they  know,  and  it  is  not  until  they  have  lost  a  number  of 
castings  that  they  are  convinced  of  their  carelessness  or  igno- 
rance. They  are  not  always  convinced,  but  will  lay  the 
blame  to  the  basin  box,  the  sand,  the  helper,  or  will  confi- 
dentially tell  some  of  their  friends  they  were  made  to  pour 
the  iron  too  hot,  or  too  fast,  and  that  no  basin  would  stand 
such  treatment. 

The  rammer  and  swab  pot  are  very  necessary  tools  in  a 
foundry,  but  in  the  hands  of  a  thoughtless  or  ignorant 
moulder  they  are  about  as  dangerous  as  a  loaded  revolver  in 
the  hands  of  a  child.  There  are  no  tools  used  in  a  foundry 
that  are  more  responsible  for  bad  casting  than  the  rammer 
and  swab.  , 

"  Bring  me  that  rammer,"  yells  the  moulder  to  his  helper, 
and  when  he  gets  it  he  uses  it  lustily. 

"  Bring  me  that  swab  pot."  He  gets  it,  and  on  goes  the 
water,  .plenty  of  it,  too.  What's  the  use  of  being  afraid  of 
water? 

Around  comes  the  ladle,  and  out  of  the  ladle  into  the 
basin  goes  the  iron.  From  the  basin  up  to  the  roof  it  flies, 
the  men  let  go  the  ladle,  and  run  to  the  corners  to  see  if 
they  are  burned  ;  then  they  will  sit  down  and  think  of  the 
moulder  and  his  swab  pot  and  rammer. 

"When  a  good  moulder,  or  one  that  thinks  he  is,  loses  a 
casting  on  account  of  his  basin,  he  should  never  blame  any 
one  but  himself;  for  he  should  know  from  experience  what 
is  required. 

A  moulder  can  tell  by  the  looks  what   sizes  of  runner 


MAKING   A    GREEN   SAND   BASIN.  109 

sticks  or  gates  he  wants.  If  a  moulder  orders  a  runner  or 
gate  stick  made  without  having  one  to  get  the  size  from, 
he  will  hardly  ever  be  satisfied  with  it. 

In  thinking  of  the  number  and  size  of  runner  or  gate 
sticks  for  a  mould,  there  are  many  points  that  should  be 
considered.  The  first  is  the  weight  of  the  casting,  and 
whether  it  should  be  poured  fast  or  slow.  The  second,  the 
form  of  it,  and  whether  its  proportions  are  heavy  or  light. 
The  third,  what  temperature  of  metal  will  the  mould  re- 
quire to  be  poured  with  ;  will  it  be  run  from  the  bottom  or 
from  the  top  of  the  mould;  and  also  the  height  of  the  basin 
above  the  mould. 

As  a  general  thing,  the  faster  a  mould  can  be  poured  with 
safety  to  all  of  its  parts,  the  better  it  is.  It  is  not  always 
the  weight  of  a  casting  that  decides  whether  the  runner  and 
gate  sticks  should  be  large  or  small,  to  pour  the  mould  fast 
or  slow.  The  common,  old  style  grate-bars,  that  have  thin 
openings  or  cores  in  them,  are  a  good  example  to  show  why 
some  moulds  require  to  be  poured  slowly. 

Many  very  good  moulders  have  worked  on  this  class  of 
castings,  and  have  been  astonished  at  their  lack  of  success 
in  making  good  ones.  A  grate-bar,  or  any  mould  that  has 
similar  thin  green  sand  cores  in  it,  should  be  poured  with 
hot  iron,  and  slow.  Pouring  them  slowly  gives  the  gases  and 
steam  in  the  sand  a  chance  to  escape  through  the  vents,  and 
the  iron,  being  hot,  will  easily  run  level,  and  not  pile  up 
higher  nearer  to  the  gates  than  in  distant  portions  of  the 
mould,  as  dull  iron  will  generally  do,  thereby  causing  thin 
bodies  of  sand  to  be  displaced.  Hot  iron  will  also  admit  of 
the  pouring  of  such  moulds  slow,  without  danger  of  the 
castings  being  cold  shut. 

Moulds  having  thin  green  sand  or  dry  sand  cores  in  them, 
should  often  be  poured  hot  and  slow  for  the  reasons  above 
stated.  Very  heavy  castings  that  have  no  dangerous  dry  or 


110  GREEN    SAND    MOULDING. 

green  cores  in  them,  should  have  large  runners  and  gates, 
so  as  to  admit  of  the  iron  being  poured  dull  and  fast,  and 
the  same  with  any  moulds  that  the  copes  would  easily  draw 
down. 

There  are  also  large  and  small  moulds  that  require  hot 
iron  poured  in  them  fast,  in  order  to  have  all  the  parts  run 
and  not  be  cold  shut. 

Again,  there  are  some  moulds  that  require  the  liquid  iron 
to  be  forced  into  them  as  fast  as  possible,  for  which  high 
heads  or  basins  should  be  made.  Castings,  such  as  cylinder 
or  pipe-shaped  moulds,  that  are  cast  vertically,  should  have 
larger  runners  and  gates  where  they  are  poured  altogether 
from  the  bottom,  than  where  they  are  poured  from  the  top, 
by  dropping  the  metal  down,  as  when  the  iron  is  all  poured 
from  the  bottom  it  gets  duller  as  it  rises  up  in  the  mould. 
Many  times,  such  moulds  are  poured  from  the  bottom  and 
top  also,  so  as  to  avoid  having  any  trouble  from  dull  or  dirty 
iron  in  the  upper  portions  of  the  casting.  A  cylinder,  etc., 
will  bore  out  cleaner  if  poured  from  the  top,  than  if  poured 
from  the  bottom.  Iron  dropping  from  the  top  keeps  cutting 
up  any  forming  lumps  of  dirt,  causing  it  to  float  and  keep 
on  top  of  the  rising  iron  ;  and  also  when  iron  is  run  from 
the  top,  there  is  as  hot  iron  in  the  upper  portion  as  in  the 
lower  portion  of  the  mould.  But  when  poured  altogether 
from  the  bottom,  the  iron  becomes  dirty  and  duller  as  it 
rises  up,  and  the  dirt  will  collect  in  lumps  and  roll  under 
flanges,  cores,  etc.,  and  also  lodge  against  the  sides  or  sur- 
faces of  the  mould,  and  it  is  not  until  the  casting  is  bored 
or  plained,  that  the  dirt  is  seen.  Iron  should  always  be 
poured  into  a  mould  as  far  as  possible  from  the  parts  that 
require  to  be  finished  up  the  cleanest,  since  the  dirtiest  por- 
tion of  a  casting  is  where  it  is  poured  or  gated.  A  smoother 
skin  can  be  made  on  a  cylinder  by  pouring  it  from  the  bottom, 
but  it  will  be  at  the  expense  of  its  being  dirty  when  bored. 


WEIGHTING   DOWN   COPES.  Ill 


WEIGHTING   DOWN    COPES— DAMP 
FOUNDRY  FLOORS. 

MELTED  iron  supports  and  floats  a  body  the  specific  grav- 
ity of  which  is  not  greater  than  its  own,  the  same  as  water 
or  any  other  fluid.  Solid  cold  iron  floats  on  the  top  of  melted 
iron,  similar  to  ice  floating  on  water.  Water,  when  frozen, 
expands,  but  the  expansion  does  not  make  the  body  any 
heavier  or  lighter.  A  definite  quantity  of  water  weighs  the 
same  whether  liquid  or  frozen.  Water,  in  changing  to  ice, 
expands  about  one-ninth  of  its  bulk,  which  makes  ice  spe- 
cifically lighter  than  water,  and  therefore  it  swims  or  floats 
on  it,  about  eight  times  as  much  being  below  as  above  the 
surface. 

An  iron  ship  sinks  until  it  displaces  water  equal  to  its 
weight  and  then  floats  ;  but  if  the  same  quantity  of  iron 
were  in  a  solid  mass,  it  would  instantly  sink  to  the  bottom. 

In  each  of  the  above  cases  the  cause  is  quite  plain  ;  but  in 
the  instance  of  iron  floating  on  iron,  the  matter  is  not  so 
apparent.  With  ice  there  is  an  observable  expansion,  which 
in  solid  iron  is  not  seen. 

With  reference  to  the  floating  of  water  and  iron,  the  iron, 
when  melted,  must  be'  specifically  heavier  than  it  is  when 
cold  ;  or  iron,  when  cold,  must  be  more  bulky  than  when 
hot,  in  order  to  be  the  same  as  ice.  But  to  say  that  iron  ex- 
pands so  as  to  occupy  more  space  when  it  is  cold  than  when 
it  is  melted  or  hot,  would  be  to  ignore  observable  results 
that  occur  in  almost  every  casting  made.  When  a  pattern 
is  constructed  to  make  a  casting  from,  it  is  made  from  2V  to 


112  GREEK   SAND   MOULDING. 

I  of  an  inch  per  foot  larger  than  the  casting  is  wanted.  In 
an  open  sand  mould  for  making  a  bar,  ring,  or  plate  cast- 
ing, after  being  poured,  the  liquid  iron  begins  to  cool  and 
contract,  and  the  contraction  is  steady  and  visible  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end. 

If  cast  iron  expands  when  cooling  (as  is  stated  by  some 
authors),  why  is  it  that  a  heavy  casting,  after  the  mould  is 
filled,  requires  so  much  feeding,  taking  from  200  to  400 
pounds  of  melted  iron  to  supply  the  shrinkage  of  the  cool- 
ing iron  ?  The  satisfactory  answering  of  this  question  will, 
I  think,  be  troublesome. 

There  is  one  thing  that  moulders  know  to  be  a  fact, 
and  that  is,  melted  iron,  when  poured  into  a  mould,  will 
raise  a  cope  so  as  to  run  out,  and  perhaps  make  a  bad  cast- 
ing, if  the  cope  is  not  bolted,  clamped,  or  weighted  down 
sufficiently  to  resist  the  head  pressure,  and  the  momentum 
with  which  the  rising  iron  comes  up  against  the  cope  or 
covering. 

The  weight  a  cope  requires  on  it,  to  hold  it  down,  de- 
pends on  three  distinct  things ;  the  first  of  which  is  the 
height  of  head  or  pouring  basin  above  the  casting ;  the 
second,  the  velocity  with  which  the  iron  comes  up  against 
the  surface  of  the  cope ;  and  the.  third,  the  number  of 
square  inches  in  the  lifting  surface  of  the  cope  or  top  part 
of  the  casting. 

In  every  mould  these  three  conditions,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  are  present,  and  must  be  provided  against.  The 
momentum  of  the  iron  against  the  cope  is  the  reason  why  a 
flask  sometimes  requires  so  much  weight  on  the  cope  to  hold 
it  down.  If  it  were  not  for  this  sudden  pressure,  as  it  were, 
one-half  of  the  weight  used  would  in  some  cases  be  suffi- 
cient. 

For  a  moulder  to  say,  as  some  do,  that  he  has  a  standard 
rule  whereby  he  can  figure  up  the  pressure  on  a  cope,  and 


WEIGHTING   DOWN   COPES.  113 

hence  the  exact  weight  required  to  hold  it  down,  to  my  view 
is  absurd.  A  standard  rule  for  weighting  down  all  moulds 
would  be  a  very  good  thing,  could  one  be  established  that  all 
moulders  could  use.  But  I  think  such  a  thing  is  not  prac- 
tical in  all  cases.  If,  however,  the  moulder  is  a  good  mathe- 
matician and  averager,  he  may  be  able  to  get  a  fair  idea  of 
the  amount  of  weight  required ;  but  to  depend  ALTOGETHER 
on  a  standard  rule  of  specific  gravities,  is  not  safe.  In  order 
to  successfully  weight  down  ALL  flasks,  a  moulder  must  have 
EXPERIENCE  and  good  sound  JUDGMENT. 

The  various  shapes  and  forms  of  castings,  and  the  position 
and  forms  of  runners.,  also  whether  a  mould  requires  slow  or 
fast  pouring,  etc.,  all  require  consideration,  and  generally  call 
for  more  weight  on  some  parts  of  a  mould  than  on  other 
parts.  The  only  safe  plan  in  weighting  a  cope  is  not  to  be 
afraid  to  have  plenty  of  weight  on,  especially  on  that  part 
of  it  where  the  runners  are  located.  There  are  as  many 
castings  lost  from  the  iron  running  out  behind  runners  and 
gates,  as  in  any  other  way. 

The  cuts  B  and  W  show  in  plan  and  side  view  a  cast-iron 
weight  of  about  one  ton,  made  expressly  for  weighting  down 
flasks.  In  a  shop  provided  with  a  number  of  these,  a 
cope  can  be  reliably  weighted  very  readily.  The  V  grooves 
are  cast  in  the  weight,  so  that  it  can  be  broken  and  re- 
melted  whenever  desired.  Some  shops,  by  their  own  bad 
castings,  have  supplied  themselves  with  weights,  while  some 
buy  heavy  scrap,  and  again  others  will  fill  wrought-iron 
rings  with  pig-iron  to  make  crane  weights. 

The  cut,  showing  a  cope  bolted  down,  represents  a  plan 
that  some  foundries  have  adopted  to  save  labor  in  hoisting 
on  and  off  weights,  and  to  insure  safety.  It  is  almost  im- 
possible for  a  cope  to  rise  so  as  to  have  run-outs  when  firmly 
bolted  down  in  the  manner  shown. 

One,  or  as  many  bolting-down  floors  as  can  be  used  in  a 


114  GREEK   SAKD   MOULDING. 

shop,  will  save  time  in  making  castings  that  have  great  lift- 
ing surface  on  the  copes. 

To  make  a  bolting-down  floor,  as  shown,  a  hole  is  dug  as 
deep  as  required,  and  bottom  cast-iron  binders  placed  solid 
and  level. 

On  some  floors  that  are  wanted  for  long  or  large  moulds, 
there  can  be  as  many  binders  as  required,  set  a  handy  dis- 
tance apart,  which,  for  a  common  run  of  work,  is  about  four 
feet.  The  binders  should  be  about  twelve  feet  long.  On 
the  top  of  these  binders  are  bedded  some  heavy  planks,  and 
the  sand  shoveled  in  on  them  and  rammed  solid  ;  then  the 
bolting-down  floor  is  ready  for  use. 

The  slanting  coke  or  cinder  bed,  shown  below  the  upper 
bed,  is  sometimes  good  for  moulding  castings  in  a  wet  or 
damp  floor,  which,  however,  is  a  very  bad  thing  to  be  both- 
ered with,  as  there  is  nothing  that  a  moulder  dreads  worse 
than  having  to  make  a  deep,  heavy  casting  in  a  damp  floor. 

I  have  made  castings  by  this  plan  where  the  lower  part 
of  the  floor  was  nothing  but  mud — sometimes  so  wet  that 
iron  plates  were  laid  down  before  the  slanting  coke-bed  could 
be  made. 

By  having  two  beds,  as  shown,  the  vents  and  heat  from 
the  melted  iron,  when  poured  into  a.  mould,  is  taken  off  by 
the  upper  bed.  If  the  heat  should  get  to  the  lower  bed,  so 
as  to  cause  steam,  there  might  be  danger  of  scabbing  or 
blowing  were  this  lower  bed  the  only  one  used ;  but,  as 
shown,  there  is  no  danger.  A  deep  wooden  box,  X,  is  set 
in,  so  that  if  any  water  collects  below  it  can  be  bailed  out. 

Some  shops  can  be  sewered  so  as  to  drain  off  the  water. 
But  if  this  is  not  possible,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  have  a  deep 
pit  or  well  dug  in  a  shop  to  collect  the  drainage,  and  to  col- 
lect the  water  from  wet  floors. 

Floors  could  have  plates  full  of  small  holes  under  them, 
resting  on  the  top  of  flat  timbers,  placed  three  feet  apart. 


WEIGHTING  DOWN   COPES. 


115 


W 


WEIGHTS   FOR   FLASKS — PLAN  OF   MOULDING   ON   WET   FLOOR. 


116  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

The  timbers  should  rest  on  large  flat  plates  on  a  solid  bot- 
tom. The  timbers  between  the  upper  and  lower  plates  will 
leave  an  open  channel  under  the  mould,  and  with  a  goov 
bed  of  coke  or  cinders  laid  on  the  plates,  any  water  collected 
will  pass  through  the  holes  in  the  plates  to  the  large  open 
channels  below,  and  run  into  a  well,  from  which  it  can  be 
bailed  or  pumped  out  by  hand  or  by  a  steam-pump. 

Some  shops  have  large  tanks  of  boiler  iron  sunk  into  the 
floor,  and  by  moulding  inside  of  them  they  avoid  the  damp- 
ness. But  there  is  much  objection  to  their  use,  on  account 
of  the  shop  room  spoiled  by  the  edge  of  the  tank  coming  in 
the  way  of  general  jobbing  work. 


APPRENTICES'  ITEMS.  117 


ONE  HUNDRED  ITEMS  THAT  APPRENTICES 
SHOULD  KNOW  AND  REMEMBER. 

1.  MOULDING  sand  contains  gases. 

2.  The   gases  in  moulding  sand  pass  out  when  iron  is 
poured  into  a  mould. 

3.  These  gases  may  pass  off  in  a  right  way  or  a  wrong  way. 

4.  When  iron  bubbles  or  boils,  the  gases  are  passing  off 
the  wrong  way. 

5.  When  gases  pass  up  through  the  iron,  it  is  because  the 
sand  is  rammed  too  hard  or  is  not  properly  vented. 

6.  Hard  ramming  closes  up  the  porosity  of  the  sand,  but 
the  vent  wire  opens,  it. 

7.  Too  much  water  used  in  mixing  sand  creates  too  much 
steam  when  the  mould  is  poured. 

8.  Steam  accumulating  under  liquid  iron,  will  raise  and 
blow  it  up. 

9.  When  iron  bubbles  or  boils  in  a  mould,  it  will  make  a 
scabbed  or  bad  casting. 

10.  Iron  naturally   seeks  a  soft  bed.     If  poured  on  a 
hard  bed  it  will  bubble  and  fly. 

11.  The  face  of  a  mould  should  always  be  the  softest. 

12.  Whenever  hard  ramming  is  required,  it  should  be  done 
on  the  outside  portion  of  a  mould. 

13.  A  rammer  should  never  be  allowed  to  strike  a  pattern 
when  ramming  up  a  mould. 

14.  When  ramming  up  the  sides  of  a  pattern,  the  pin 
should  not  go  nearer  than  one  inch  to  the  face ;  the  butt 
should  be  kept  one  and  a  half  inches  from  the  face. 


118  GKEEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

15.  Too  much  depth  of  sand  in  a  ramming  will  be  apt 
to  make  swells  upon  the  sides  of  a  casting. 

16.  In  ramming  courses  of  sand,  the  rammer  should  be 
made  to  feel  the  under  or  last  course  rammed. 

17.  Too  much  venting  will  seldom  do  any  harm,   but 
hard  ramming  will. 

18.  Hard  ramming  requires  good  venting. 

19.  To  vent  hard    ramming    requires   muscle,   and  do 
not  be  afraid  to  employ  it. 

20.  Learn  to  ram  even  and  lightly. 

21.  Some  moulders  will  ram  harder  than  others. 

22.  He  that  practices  hard  ramming  will  always  have  the 
most  trouble. 

23.  Some  parts  of  a  mould  require  and  will  stand  harder 
ramming  than  others. 

24.  The  higher  the  head  or  pressure  upon  the  lowest 
portion  of  a  mould,  the  harder  should   be  the   ramming 
there. 

25.  Plain  vertical  sides  of  a  mould  will  stand  harder  ram- 
ming than  the  flat  bed-surface  of  a  mould. 

26.  Cores,    or  a  projection  that  is  surrounded  by  iron, 
should  be  rammed  even  and  lightly,  and  also  well  vented. 

27.  Any  bottom    section   of    a  mould    that   is   covered 
rapidly  with  iron,  so  as  to  have  a  pressure   upon  it,  will 
stand  harder  ramming  than  where  it  is  to  be  covered  over 
slowly. 

28.  The  lowest  point  of  a  mould's  sides  is  the  one  which 
should  be  rammed  the  hardest. 

29.  The  highest  point  of  a  mould's  sides  is  the  one  which 
requires  to  be  rammed  the  lightest. 

30.  The  flat  surfaces  of  copes  will  stand  harder  ramming 
than  the  bottom  surfaces  of  the  mould. 

31.  In  plain  copes  the  gases  and  steam  are  on  top  of  the 
iron. 


APPRENTICES'  ITEMS.  119 

32.  In  beds  or  bottoms  of  moulds,  the  gases  and  steam 
are  underneath  the  iron. 

33.  Gases  or  steam  do  not  act  well  underneath  hot  iron. 

34.  The  bottom  portions  of  rammed  moulds  should  always 
be  provided  with  ways  and  means  to  let  the  gases  and  steam 
escape  easily. 

35.  If  there  is  not  a  good  opportunity  for  gas  and  steam 
to  escape  downwards,  it  is  seldom  that  there  is  pressure 
or  body  of  iron  strong  enough  to  keep  them  from  passing 
up  through  the  iron,  and  thereby  causing  a  casting  to  blow 
or  be  scabbed. 

36.  It  does  not  require  so  much  pressure  or  force  to  drive 
steam  or  gas  upwards  through  iron,  as  is  required  that 
the  iron  may  hold  or  force  steam  or  gases  downwards. 

37.  The  harder  the  ramming,  the  more  force  or  pressure  will 
iron  require  in  order  to  drive  the  gases  or  steam  downwards. 

38.  There  is  less  gas  in  old  sand  than  in  new. 

39.  Facing-sand,  or  sand  having  blacking,  flour,  or  sea-coal 
mixed  in  with  them,  contain  an  increased  amount  of  gases. 

40.  The  more   gas  there  is  in  sand,  the  more  venting 
should  be  done. 

41.  Avoid  using  the   swab  as  much  as   possible  when 
finishing  a  mould. 

42.  Finishing  a   mould  by  often  using  a  swab,  makes 
rough,  scabby  casting. 

43.  Never  patch  a  mould  with  a  trowel,  when  you  cau 
patch  it  with  your  hand  or  fingers. 

44.  The  less  sleeking  done  in  order  to  properly  finish 
a  mould,  the  better  will  the  casting  be. 

45.  Never  sleek  twice  where  once  will  do. 

46.  Patching  a  mould  with  your  fingers  will  never  cause 
a  scabby  casting,  but  too  much  sleeking  patching  will. 

47.  When  finishing,  the  lighter  you  can  bear  upon  your 
tools  the  better. 


120  GREEN   SAND   MOULDING. 

48.  Heavy  sleeking  closes  up  the  pores,  and  makes  the 
surface  of  the  mould  hard. 

49.  A  hard  surface  sleeked  mould  is  apt  to  cause  cold 
shut,  and  thin  scabs  on  a  casting. 

50.  The  dryer  sand  can  be  worked  and  practically  used, 
the  better. 

51.  The  dryer  the  sand,  the  more  ramming  it  will  stand. 

52.  The  more  ramming  a  mould  will  stand,  the  more  strain 
can  be  put  upon  it.    For  heavy  castings  these  last  three  num- 
bers should  be  specially  remembered. 

53.  A  mould  that  needs  to  be  poured  fast,  generally  should 
be  well  vented. 

54.  A  fast-poured  mould  should  be  well  made. 

55.  The  best  way  to  know  if  a  mould  is  a  good  one,  is  to 
fill  it  with  iron,  and  then  see  if  the  casting  is  perfect  when 
it  is  cleaned. 

56.  It  is  not  necessary  that  patterns  should  be  jabbed  full 
of  holes  in  order  to  vent  a  mould. 

57.  One  inch  thickness  of  facing-sand,  over  a  mould,  will 
peel  a  casting  as  well  as  a  foot  thick. 

58.  The  use  of  facing-sand  has  caused  more  bad  casting 
than  common  sand. 

59.  Using  the  facing-sand  too  strong  causes  cold  shut, 
or  streaked  castings. 

60.  A  cold   shut  casting  is  harder  to  deal  with  than  a 
scabbed  one.     Scabs  can  be  chipped  off,  but  to  hide  cold 
shuts  has  puzzled  many  a  moulder. 

61.  Do  not  use  facing-sand  1  to  8,  when  1  to  10  would 
peel  the  casting. 

62.  Facing-sand  will  stand  the  wash,  or  running  of  iron, 
better   than   common    sand,    where   gates   or   runners   are 
cut. 

63.  The  first  course  of  ramming  in  a  cope  should  be  evenly 
and  firmly  done. 


APPRENTICES'  ITEMS.  121 

64.  The  second  and  third  courses  do  not  require  as  much 
careful  ramming  as  the  first  does. 

65.  The  butt  rammer  is  used  to  make  the  sand  solid  be- 
tween the  bars,  so  as  to  keep  it  from  dropping  out. 

66.  In  using  the  butt  rammer,  be  careful  not  to  pound  the 
cross  bars,  as  you  will  be  apt  to  loosen  the  sand  on  the  face 
of  the  bars. 

67.  Always  know  that  the  bars  of  your  flask  are  solid  and 
nailed  in,  so  as  not  to  get  loose. 

68.  When  your  cope  is  on,  try  if  it  will  twist  in  the  pin- 
holes  or  not,  as  a  casting  that  has  been  made  in  a  mould 
that  has  not  been  carefully  closed,  looks  badly. 

69.  Whenever  you  cut  out  the  bars  of  a  cope,  do  not  for- 
get that  bars  in  a  cope  are  put  there  to  hold  or  lift  up  the 
sand. 

70.  If  you  can  avoid  having  gaggers  sticking  up  above  the 
top  of  a  cope,  do  so,  as  by  this  many  a  casting  has  been  lost. 

71.  Avoid  using  thick,  heavy  gaggers  as  much  as  possible. 
7£.  Always  make  sure  of  having  two-thirds  of  the  length 

of  a  gagger  between  the  bars,  when  you  have  a  body  of  sand 
to  lift. 

73.  The  sand  between  the  bars  holds  the  gaggers,  and  the 
sand  below  the  bars  should  be  lifted  by  the  gaggers. 

74.  If  there  is  not  sufficient  depth  of  sand  between  the 
bars,  exceeding  in  inches   that  below   it,  wooden  soldiers 
should  be  tacked  on  the  bars  to  assist  the  gaggers. 

75.  Never  lose  sight  of  the  fact   that  iron  gaggers  are 
heavier  than  the  same  proportion  of  sand. 

76.  A  hanging  body  of  sand  would  stand  a  better  chance 
of  being  lifted  by  having  no  gagger,  than  by  having  a  lot  of 
short  gaggers  coming  only  an  inch  or  two  up  between  the  bars. 

77.  Keep  the  top  of  your  pouring  runners  free  from  a  lot 
of  loose  sand  around  the  hole,  by  packing  it  firmly  with  your 
hand,  and  then  swabbing  it  over  lightly  with  water. 

6 


122  GREEN   SAND  MOULDING. 

78.  Never  pour  a  ladle  of  iron  unless  it  will  be  skimmed, 
and  stand  so  that  you  need  not  move  after  commencing  to 
pour. 

79.  If  the  castings  are  light,  they  should  not  be  left  in  the 
sand  over  night,  as  they  are  apt  to  get  rusty. 

80.  Castings  that  will  keep  red-hot  for  two  or  three  hours 
after  being  poured,  are  best  kept  covered  over  with  sand  until 
they  become  cold,  since  leaving  them  exposed  to  the  effects 
of  the  atmosphere,  destroys  the  good  color  of  a  casting. 

LOAM  AND  DRY  SAND  MOULDS. 

81.  Keep  on  good  terms  with  the  foreman,  if  you  wish  a 
chance  to  learn  these  branches  of  the  trade. 

82.  Dry  sand  moulds,  as  a  general  thing,  should  be  rammed 
harder  than  green  sand. 

83.  Dry  sand  does  not  require  as  much  venting  as  green 
sand,  and  there  are  many  moulds  that  can  be  cast  without 
having  a  vent  in  them. 

84.  There  is  less  gas  in  dry  sand  than  green  sand,  and  if 
a  mould  is  thoroughly  dried,  there  is  no  steam  to  contend 
with. 

85.  When  ramming  dry  sand  moulds,  be  just  as  careful 
to  avoid  hitting  the  pattern  with  the  rammer,  as  with  green 
sand  moulds. 

86.  All  joints  made  on  dry  sand  or  loam  moulds  must  be 
pressed  or  sleeked  down,  so  as  to  leave  a  fin  upon  the  casting, 
as  this  class  of  moulds  would  crush,  if  the  joints  were  left 
as  the  mould  was  parted. 

87.  There  is  an  old  maxim,  that  it  is  better  to  have  a  fin 
than  a  crush,  the  truth   of  which  many  old   experienced 
moulders  have  found  to  their  sorrow. 

88.  When  finishing  dry  sand  moulds,  sand  should  never 
be  patched  or  sleeked  on  smooth  or  sleeked  surfaces. 


APPRENTICES'  ITEMS.  123 

89.  Dry  sand  mixtures  depend  upon  what  kind  of  sand  or 
loam  a  shop  uses  ;  almost  every  shop  has  a  different  way  of 
mixing  dry  sand  and  loam. 

90.  A  close  mixture  of  loam  or  dry  sand  is  very  liable  to 
scab,  while  if  it  is  too  open, .the  mould  will  not  stand  the 
dropping  or  washing  effect  of  the  iron,  when  poured. 

91.  To  know  what  proportions  of  sharp  and  loam  sands 
to  mix  together,  a  man  must  have  experience,  but  some  few 
places  have  a  natural  loam  or  dry  sand   that  requires  no 
mixed  proportions. 

92.  Dry  sand  or  loam  moulds,  if  not  thoroughly  dried, 
generally  cause  a  casting  to  become  scabbed. 

93.  A  casting  poured  hot  will  finish  up  cleaner  than  one 
poured  dull, 

94.  It  will  take  more  strain  to  break  cast-iron  when  there 
is  heat  in  it,  than  when  it  is  cold,  and  the  same  is  true  of 
wrought-iron.      In  winter,   or  very  cold  weather,   chains 
should  not  be  used  to  hoist  as  much  as  in  the  summer  time ; 
sometimes  it  is  best  to  heat  a  cold  chain  before  hoisting  a 
heavy  weight. 

95.  It  is  not  safe  for  two-ply  crane  chains  to  hoist  much 
more  than — 

20  tons  with  a  1"  chain. 

14     "         "      I"      " 
10     «         «      |"      « 

6     "         "      |        " 
3     "         "|        " 

If  chains  are  not  made  of  the  best  iron,  we  should  not 
hoist  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  weights  given. 

96.  When  learning  your  trade,  don't  let  your  conceit  run 
off  with  your  common  sense,  as  such  conduct  makes  your 
superiors  dislike  you. 


124  GREEN   SAND  MOULDING. 

97.  "Whenever  you  want  to  know  anything,  if  you  have 
friends,  they  will  tell  you,  and  without  such  help  you  can  do 
but  little. 

98.  Apprentices  cannot  afford   to  lose  the  good-will  or 
friendship  of  any  one  in  their  shops. 

99.  A  good  apprentice  will  make  a  good  journeyman. 

100.  Never  allow  yourself  to  think  that  you  have  learned 
the  entire  moulder's  trade,  for  one's  knowledge  here  can 
constantly  he  increased  ;   no  man  has   yet    mastered   the 
moulder's  trade. 


BUILDING   AND   FIRING    LARGE   OVENS.  125 


BUILDING  AND  FIRING  LARGE  OVENS. 

THERE  is  nothing  in  a  foundry  that  is  ordinarily  so  illy 
constructed,  and  with  which  so  much  fault  is  found,  as  the 
ovens  for  drying  moulds  and  large  cores.  Ask  any  moulder 
who  has  traveled  considerably,  how  many  ovens  he  knows  of 
that  give  good  satisfaction,  and  it  will  tax  his  memory  to 
tell  of  more  than  two  or  three,  and  then  if  they  are  not 
located  so  as  to  be  in  the  way,  or  take  up  the  best  portion  of 
the  shop,  it  will  be  a  wonder. 

When  building  a  foundry,  the  locating  of  the  oven  should 
be  attended  to  by  a  thoroughly  practical  man,  and  is  a  matter 
that  should  receive  much  thought  and  attention,  as  there 
are  few  shops  in  which  they  can  be  built  on  the  same  general 
plan.  Ovens  should  be  built  where  they  will  be  out  of  the 
way  of  doors,  gangways,  and  green  sand  floors,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, should  be  in  that  section  of  the  shop  where  the  loam 
and  dry  sand  work  can  be  clone  to  the  best  advantage.  In 
some  shops  ovens  are  placed  so  that  the  track  has  to  be 
curved  in  order  to  run  the  carriage  under  the  sweep  of  the 
crane.  This  is  a  very  bad  plan,  as  the  car,  when  heavily 
loaded,  moves  hard  on  a  curve. 

When  the  ground  room  will  allow  it,  and  the  shop  room 
is  small,  it  is  best  to  have  the  ovens  built  outside  the  shop, 
having  the  entrance  even  with  the  inside  wall. 

In  building  ovens  it  is  also  important  to  know  and  provide 
for  the  class  of  work  intended  to  be  made  or  dried,  as  some 
work  will  not  stand  to  be  dried  fast.  Such  work  as  large 
cores,  cylinders,  gears,  or  any  fine  dry-sand  or  loam  moulds, 


126  LOAM   MOULDING. 

should  be  dried  with  a  fair,  even  fire,  especially  if  the 
moulds  are  to  be  blacked  dry.  Such  moulds  as  rolls,  spin- 
dles, propeller-wheels,  or  other  coarse  work,  will  usually 
stand  a  hot  lire.  There  is  nothing  so  bad  to  handle  as  burnt 
moulds  or  cores,  for  which  the  poor  night-watchman  seldom 
escapes  blame. 

Mixtures  of  dry  or  core  sand,  haying  plenty  of  loam  and 
sharp  sand  in  them,  will  stand  a  hotter  fire  without  being 
burnt  than  sand  having  flour,  meal,  or  much  moulding  sand 
mixed  with  it. 

For  large  cores  that  must  be  dried  quickly,  and  without 
cracking  or  being  burnt,  the  less  flour  and  the  more  clay- 
wash  used  for  mixing  the  sand,  the  better. 

For  fuel  in  firing  up  ovens,  coke  is  the  best,  and  should 
be  used  more  than  it  is.  Hard  coal  is  good  and  makes  a  hot 
fire,  but  its  extra  expense  is  an  objection.  It  is  a  good  plan 
to  mix  a  little  in  the  fire  with  the  coke,  when  a  very  hot  fire 
is  wanted.  Most  ovens  are  fired  with  soft  slack  coal,  on 
account  of  its  cheapness.  It  is  good  for  drying  rough  work, 
but  a  serious  objection  is  the  soot  and  dirt  it  makes.  Look 
at  a  moulder  after  he  has  been  inside  a  cylinder,  brushing  or 
cleaning  the  mould,  and  he  is  so  black  and  dirty  that  you 
would  hardly  know  him.  The  question  is,  can  a  man  in 
such  a  condition  feel  like  doing  a  clean,  neat,  mechanical 
job  ?  A  soft  coal  fire  is  not  a  steady  fire,  and  it  requires 
close  attention  to  keep  it  going,  and  will  burn  moulds  and 
cores  very  often.  Moulds  or  cores  blacked  dry,  with  this 
kind  of  firing,  generally  make  a  rough  surface,  on  account  of 
the  oily  substance  the  smoke  and  soot  leave  on  the  face.  With 
a  coke  fire,  moulds  or  cores  can  be  blacked  dry  in  a  neat, 
clean  manner,  being  almost  as  clean  when  they  come  out  as 
when  they  go  into  the  oven.  It  makes  a  steady  fire  that 
needs  very  little  watching  ;  and  with  a  fire  basket,  like  the 
one  shown  in  the  cut,  you  need  not  bother  the  night-watch- 


BUILDING   AND   FIRING    LARGE   OVENS.  12? 

man  to  do  any  firing  during  the  night.  Should  your  mould 
or  core  be  burnt,  you  can  blame  no  one  but  the  man  who 
fixed  the  fire  before  going  home. 

If  you  want  a  good  hot  fire,  fill  up  your  basket  full  of 
medium-sized  coke,  and  leave  the  drafts  open. 

Should  you  want  a  slow  fire  the  first  part  of  the  night,  so 
as  not  to  blister  the  green  blacking,  or  crack  open  the  cores, 
leave  the  drafts  partially  closed,  and  have  the  watchman  open 
them  in  an  hour  or  two. 

Should  you  want  a  slow  fire  all  night,  only  have  the  basket 
half  filled,  and  keep  the  drafts  all  closed.  When  the  fire  is 
renewed  in  the  morning,  shake  up  the  grate  bars,  and  run  a 
bar  between  the  upright  bars,  to  loosen  up  the  fire  and  get  the 
clinkers  out,  and  then  put  on  more  coke,  and  your  fire  will 
run  all  right  again  till  night.  A  basket  of  the  dimensions 
shown  is  large  enough  to  heat  an  oven  10  feet  wide,  18  feet 
long,  and  8  feet  high.  For  very  large  ovens,  it  would  be 
better  to  have  two  baskets,  one  on  each  side  of  the  oven,  and 
for  all-sized  ovens  to  have  extensions  built,  as  shown  attached 
to  the  revolving  oven  (in  article  "  Ovens  for  Drying  Small 
Cores"),  and  to  have  the  fire  basket  placed  in  the  extension. 
When  the  fire-places  are  built  inside  the  oven,  there  is  a  large 
space  to  be  heated  that  cannot  be  used  to  any  advantage, 
which  causes  a  loss  of  fuel. 

In  arranging  for  the  fire  basket,  two  bearing  bars  are  built 
into  the  brick  walls  to  support  the  grate  bars,  and  the  bottom 
is  bedded  on  a  solid  brick  foundation,  the  front  of  which  is 
left  open,  so  as  to  admit  a  draft  and  to  get  out  the  ashes. 
The  back  and  sides  are  closed  up,  so  no  cold  air  can  get  into 
the  oven.  What  air  does  get  in  is  heated,  as  it  has  to  pass 
through  the  fire,  making  an  increased  draft  and  combus- 
tion. 

The  top  basket  frame  is  supported  by  the  four  corner  up- 
rights, which  have  projecting  pieces  cast  on  them  for  this 


128  LOAM    MOULDING. 

purpose.  Should  any  of  the  upright  bars  get  burnt  out, 
they  can  be  taken  out  and  new  ones  put  in. 

The  inside,  which  is  subjected  to  the  direct  heat  from  the 
fire,  should  be  built  of  fire-brick,  and  the  whole  brick-work 
of  the  extension  should  be  well  stayed  with  binders  and  bolts, 
so  as  to  keep  the  heat  from  cracking  it. 

This  plan  of  a  coke  basket  and  fire-place  is  from  one  I 
constructed  not  long  ago,  and  it  gives  perfect  satisfaction. 
Attached  to  the  fire  basket  is  a  fire  front  not  shown.  The 
lug,  B,  is  one  of  four  that  are  cast  on  the  face  of  the  basket 
frames  for  bolting  the  front  to.  The  purpose  is  to  make  the 
fire-place  all  air-tight  above  the  grate  bars.  The  front  has 
two  doors  that  can  be  opened  for  shoveling  in  coke.  Also 
slides  open  opposite  each  space  in  the  basket,  so  as  to  get  at 
the  fire.  The  slide  or  damper  is  made  to  close  the  openings, 
so  that,  if  the  thin  sheet-iron  outside  doors,  XX,  were  opened, 
you  could  see  no  fire.  These  doors  do  not  come  down  within 
2"  or  3"  of  the  bottom,  the  space  being  to  admit  air.  When 
the  draft  is  to  be  closed  air-tight,  a  loose  plate  is  used  to 
close  the  bottom  opening,  and  sand  shoveled  against  the 
joints. 

The  most  essential  point  in  constructing  ovens  is  to  have 
good  draft  arrangements.  In  most  ovens  there  cliould  be  a 
top  and  bottom  flue  opening  into  the  chimney,  with  dampers 
to  open  and  close  them.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  have  a  cover 
placed  over  the  top  of  the  chimney  hole,  and  made  to  open 
and  shut;  and,  when  you  want  to  retain  the  heat,  and  keep 
the  oven  from  getting  cold,  shut  down  the  cover,  and  it  will 
save  two  or  more  hours'  firing  when  the  oven  is  not  wanted 
for  a  day  or  so. 

The  styles  of  fire-places  used  are  various,  but  the  two  shown 
are  the  best  that  I  know  of.  The  one  above  described  is  the 
best  for  drying  a  fine  class  of  work  that  requires  an  even,  steady 
fire;  but  where  you  want  a  strong  heat  for  moulds  that  will 


BUILDING   AND   FIRING   LARGE   OVENS. 


129 


130 


LOAM   MOULDING 




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ELEVATION  OF  A  COKE  FIRE  BASKET 


stand  to  be  dried  quickly,  the  under  flue  firing  oven,  as  shown, 

will  do  the  best  work.     In  this  style  of  a  fire-place  the  heat 

comes  up  from  the  bottom 
through  the  holes  made 
in  cast-iron  plates.  The 
plates  are  made  1£"  thick, 
and  in  sections,  so  that 
they  can  be  lifted  by  hand 
to  clean  out  the  flues. 
The  oven  is  shown  hav- 
ing the  rear  end  open; 
also  one  side  of  the  firing 
pit,  and  the  arched  brick 
covering  over  the  fire- 

place, by  which  means  the  construction  of  the  two  flues  that 

run  the  whole  lengh  of  the  oven  can  be  seen. 

These  flues  should  be  built  with  fire-brick,  and  it  is  best 

to  have  about  six  feet  of  the  covering  of  the  end  connected 

with  the  fire-place  arched  over  with  fire-bricks  instead  of  the 

perforated  iron  plates, 

BO  as  to  prevent  the 

direct  flame  from  the 

fire  from  getting  into 

the  oven,  or  burning 

out    the    plates.      I 

have  seen  strong  fires 

make  these  plates,  at 

the  farthest  end  from 

the  fire,  nearly  red- 


hot. 

The  cost  of 
such  an  oven 


firing 
is   ex- 


PLAN OF  BASKET 


pensive,  as  one  will  burn  nearly  half  a  ton  of  soft  lump 
coal  in  one  night.     The  fire-place  is  built  below  the  level 


BUILDING   AND   FIRING   LARGE   OVENS.  131 

of  the  shop  floor,  and  steps  are  needed  to  get  down  to  attend 
to  the  fire.  Should  this  pit  be  built  outside  the  shop,  it 
should  be  constructed  so  as  to  keep  the  rain  or  water  from 
getting  into  the  pit. 

The  size  of  this  fire-place  is  enough  to  heat  a  larger  oven 
than  the  one  shown.  This  oven  shows  a  flat  top,  supported 
by  railroad  bars,  with  sheet-iron  plates  on  top  of  them,  and 
a  course  of  bricks  over  the  whole,  to  keep  the  heat  from  es- 
caping. This  style  of  covering  I  prefer  to  an  arched  brick 
top,  with  which  there  is  a  large  space  to  be  heated  that  can 
hardly  ever  be  used. 

This  flue  oven  would  work  well  with  a  coke  basket,  instead 
of  the  coal  fire-place,  but  would  not  make  so  hot  an  oven,  or 
dry  as  quickly.  Ovens  could  be  made  having  a  basket  coke 
fire,  as  shown,  attached  to  the  revolving  core  oven,  and  the 
under-flue  arrangement  also  with  a  coke  fire.  To  make  a 
very  hot  oven,  both  fires  could  be  used,  and  for  slow  drying, 
either  one  or  the  other.  With  this  combination,  any  class 
of  work  can  be  properly  dried. 


132  LOAM   MOULDING. 


OVENS  FOR  DRYING  SMALL  CORES. 

IT  is  very  important  to  have  in  a  foundry  an  oven  that 
will  dry  cores  at  short  notice,  and  without  burning  them. 
I  have  seen  a  large  variety  of  core  ovens,  and  very  few  of 
them  were  good  for  anything,  as  they  would  burn  the  cores, 
or  require  a  long  time  to  dry  them. 

There  are  shops  that  have  nothing  but  large  ovens  for 
drying  small  cores,  which  is  all  well  enough  as  long  as  they 
have  cores  to  fill  the  oven  with  ;  but  to  fire  up  a  large  oven 
to  dry  a  few  small  cores,  which  is  often  done,  is  a  very  ex. 
pensive  and  a  slow  process. 

In  building  ovens,  the  builder  or  designer  sometimes 
seems  to  have  thought  all  that  was  required  was  a  fire-place 
and  a  space  to  pile  cores  in  ;  whereas,  with  a  little  more 
thought,  they  might  have  had  an  oven  that  would  have  been 
a  success,  and  have  cost  no  more  than  the  apology  for  one. 

The  revolving  oven,  shown  in  sectional  elevation  (first  il- 
lustration), is  round,  with  an  upright  cast-iron  shaft,  hav- 
ing five  flanges  on  which  to  bolt  plates  or  arms  JT,  X,  the 
shape  of  which  is  shown  at  B.  This  oven  is  built  with  an 
8"  brick  wall  to  form  the  outside,  and  a  cast-iron  plate  for 
the  top,  on  which  is  a  box,  D,  to  which  a  cap  can  be  bolted,  to 
hold  the  top  of  the  shaft,  the  bottom  of  which  rests  in  a 
cast-iron  seat. 

The  fire-place  should  be  built  outside  of  the  circle,  as 
shown,  so  that  the  cores  will  not  get  the  direct  heat  from 
the  fire.  In  building  the  walls,  hinges  H,  ff,  should  be  built 
in  for  hanging  the  oven-door  to.  This  door  should  be  made 


OVENS   FOR   DRYING   SMALL   CORES.  133 


134  LOAM   MOULDING. 

in  two  pieces,  so  as  to  open  to  the  right  and  left,  and  should  be 
the  full  height  of  oven,  to  provide  for  putting  cores  on  the 
top  shelves.  The  chimney  should  have  a  top  flue,  as  well  as 
a  bottom  one,  as  shown  at  P  P,  and  dampers  in  both,  so  as 
to  throw  the  heat  down  or  up,  as  required.  When  starting 
a  fire  both  dampers  should  be  open,  and  when  the  -cores  to  be 
dried  are  on  the  top  shelf,  the  bottom  damper  may  be  closed, 
and  vice  versa. 

This  style  of  oven  is  very  handy  for  drying  cores  that  can 
be  lifted  by  hand,  and  will  hold  and  dry  more  cores  with  less 
fuel  than  any  oven  I  know  of.  Should  you  want  to  dry  a 
single  core  quick,  put  it  on  the  top  shelf,  and  turn  it  around 
to  the  fire.  This  oven  can  be  filled  with  cores,  and  they 
can  be  taken  out  again  without  going  farther  than  the  door, 
which  alone  is  of  great  value  to  a  core-maker.  The  size 
of  this  oven  was  about  eight  feet  in  diameter,  and  seven  feet 
high. 

The  second  cut  is  a  plan  of  an  oven  I  made  last  winter, 
and,  for  a  small  one,  I  think  it  will  be  hard  to  beat.  It  will 
dry  cores  on  the  bottom  as  well  as  at  the  top,  and  in  a  very 
short  time,  and  without  burning  them.  The  amount  of  fuel 
used  is  small.  It  is  made  with  two  doors  to  open  right  and 
left,  so  that  cores  can  be  put  in  and  taken  out  handily. 
The  loose  bars,  X9  can  be  taken  out  or  moved,  so  as  to  make 
room  for  large  cores.  The  opening  to  the  fire  is  at  the  back, 
so  as  to  keep  all  dirt  and  ashes  out  of  the  core-room,  and  the 
heat  is  drawn  under  to  the  other  end  of  the  oven,  and  escapes 
at  the  bottom  flue,  the  top  flue,  or  damper,  being  only  opened 
when  the  fire  is  started,  so  as  to  let  the  smoke  out,  and  keep 
the  oven  clean  from  soot. 

When  starting  a  fire,  the  bottom  damper  being  closed  gives 
a  direct  draft,  as  shown  by  the  arrow.  The  top  damper  is 
made  so  as  to  close  up  the  front,  but  when  pulled  back  it 
only  partly  closes  up  the  chimney.  The  bottom  damper  is 


OVENS   FOR   DRYING   SMALL  CORES. 


135 


136  LOAM    MOULDING. 

made  so  as  to  close  up  the  direct  draft  when  the  heat  is 
wanted  to  go  into  the  oven,  as  shown. 

This  oven  consists  mostly  of  cast-iron  plates,  brick  being 
used  only  for  the  fire-place,  between  the  two  bottom  plates, 
for  the  ends  of  the  oven,  and  for  the  chimney,  which  is  at 
one  corner  of  the  oven.  The  bottom  plate,  or  the  one  over 
the  fire,  should  be  made  about  one  inch  thick,  to  stand  the 
heat. 

The  hole  and  cover  shown  at  A  is  used  for  taking  out  the  soot, 
or  what  dirt  may  gather  between  the  two  plates.  For  firing, 
coke  is  used,  which  makes  a  good,  clean,  and  cheap  fire,  and 
does  not  make  the  surface  of  the  cores  oily,  as  slack  or  soft 
coal  does. 

It  is  hard  to  blacken  cores  dried  with  soft  coal,  costing 
time  of  the  core-maker,  and  often  causing  rough  spots  in  the 
castings. 


TWO   WAYS   OF   MOULDING    CROOKED   PIPES   1^   LOAM.      137 


TWO  WAYS  OF  MOULDING  CROOKED  PIPES  IN 

LOAM. 

THE  adage,  "  There  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun,"  must 
have  been  written  more  for  the  consolation  of  those  who 
never  tried  to  find  anything  new,  than  for  men  who  have 
spent  years  or  a  lifetime  in  bringing  to  light  some  principle 
or  invention.  Literally,  the  adage  is  true  enough  ;  but,  in 
any  event,  there  is  one  thing  men  should  get  credit  for,  and 
that  is,  the  improvements  they  make  on  old  tricks.  The 
different  ways  there  are  of  doing  the  same  thing,  can  only  be 
accounted  for  by  men's  minds  traveling  through  different 
channels  to  find  them.  There  are  all  kinds  of  old  tricks  or 
plans  for  every  existing  occupation,  and  also  for  many  that 
are  to  come  into  existence,  and  in  this  the  moulder  seems  to 
have  been  provided  for  as  well  as  other  tradesmen.  If  he 
will  only  hunt  for  them,  he  will  be  astonished  at  the  num- 
ber stored  up  for  him. 

The  cuts  here  shown  represent  the  result  of  two  moulders 
searching  for  a  rigging  to  mould  or  sweep  up  crooked  pipes 
in  loam.  The  moulding  of  these  pipes  shows  the  diversity 
of  minds,  and  the  different  ways  different  men  will  adopt  to 
do  the  same  job,  or  the  same  class  of  work.  Each  plan  here 
shown  has  its  special  advantage  as  well  as  its  disadvantages, 
which  the  practical  man  can  readily  see.  What  would  be 
an  objectionable  feature  for  this  job,  might  be  a  very  accept- 
able one  for  some  other  job. 

The  upper  cut  shows  the  process  of  sweeping  the  bottom 
and  top  part  of  the  pipe  separately  ;  also  how  the  top  or 


138  LOAM   MOULDING. 

cope  is  rolled  over,  so  as  to  be  closed  on  the  bottom 
part. 

The  lower  cut  illustrates  a  plan  in  which  the  cope  was 
built  so  as  to  save  rolling  over,  which,  for  very  large  pipes,  is 
a  point  of  considerable  importance. 

In  moulding  the  upper  pipe,  there  arc  some  principles  in- 
volved and  adopted,  in  order  to  have  a  good  chance  to  finish 
the  cope,  and  to  save  labor  in  the  long  run.  The  handles  1, 
2,  and  3  belong  to  the  bottom  plate.  No.  4  is  a  section, 
showing  a  part  of  the  cross  bars  that  are  bolted  to  the  top 
plates,  between  which  bricks  are  wedged,  so  that  they  can- 
not fall  out  when  the  cope  is  rolled  over.  E  E  show  the 
end  view  of  plates  having  prickers  on.  These  plates,  when 
bolted  down,  as  shown,  assist  the  holding  in  of  the  bricks 
under  them,  and  the  prickers  can  be  daubed  up  with  loam 
or  a  dry  sand  mixture  to  form  the  top  joint.  H  shows  how 
the  two  end  cross  bars  are  made,  having  prickers  cast  on 
them  to  hold  the  sand  that  is  rammed  between  them  for 
forming  the  flanges  and  end  joints. 

For  moulding  or  sweeping  this  pipe,  a  wooden  frame,  X 
X,  having  screwed  to  it  the  flanges,  as  seen,  is  used.  This 
frame  is  first  blocked  up  level  in  the  position  wanted,  and 
then  as  the  brick-work  is  built  up,  or  the  loam  rubbed  on,  a 
sweep,  D,  the  front  view  of  which  is  shown  at  A,  is  worked 
along  on  the  frame  X  X,  so  as  to  sweep  up  the  mould. 

In  making  this  mould  there  were  no  core  prints,  or  bear- 
ings at  the  ends,  for  the  core  to  rest  on.  The  mould  ended 
on  the  outside  of  the  flanges,  and  to  form  the  face  of  the 
flanges  and  core  prints  there  were  half-pricked  plates  used, 
as  shown  at  F  on  the  plan  and  end  elevation.  The  trunnions 
cast  on  these  plates  made  them  easy  to  handle. 

When  the  bottom  part  of  mould  was  set  down  to  be  got  ready 
to  cast,  one  of  these  half-plates  was  set  up  against  each  end 
of  the  flanges  or  mould,  and  wedged  up  until  the  half-round 


TWO   WAYS   OF   MOULDING   CROOKED   PIPES   IN    LOAM.      139 


Elevation 


Flan 


140  LOAM    MOULDING. 

hole  in  the  two  measured  correctly  to  answer  the  purpose  of 
a  core  print,  and  after  the  two  chaplets  were  placed,  the 
core  was  set  in,  and  the  cope  rolled  over  by  using  two  cranes; 
one  crane  being  hitched  to  the  handles  3  and  4,  and  hoisted 
up,  as  shown,  until  it  came  on  to  the  sand  pile  T,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent any  sudden  over-balancing.  After  this,  the  second  crane 
is  hitched  to  the  upper  handles,  1  and  2,  and  the  cope 
hoisted  up  clear  from  the  ground.  Then  by  hoisting  upon 
the  crane,  as  shown,  the  cope  is  completely  turned  over, 
after  which  one  crane  can  handle  it,  and  place  it  wherever 
wanted. 

After  the  cope  is  placed  truly  on  top  of  the  bottom  part  of 
the  mould,  in  doing  which  there  can  be  no  trouble,  as  the 
top  ends  are  all  open  so  that  the  moulder  can  put  in  his 
hands  and  feel  the  two  joints  as  well  as  see  them,  two  upper 
end  plates,  which  are  not  shown,  are  lowered  over  the  ends 
of  the  core  and  pressed  up  against  the  face  of  the  upper 
flange,  being  held  there  by  props,  clamps,  or  bolts.  The 
mould  is  then  ready  to  be  rammed  up  and  got  ready  for  cast- 
ing ;  it  being  poured  with  two  runners  at  the  bottom,  as 
shown. 

The  lower  cut  shows  a  plan  in  which  there  is  less  rigging 
used,  at  the  expense  of  extra  labor  required  to  make  the 
mould.  In  moulding  this  pipe,  a  frame  was  used,  the  same 
as  described  above,  with  the  exception  of  core  prints  being 
fastened  to  the  flanges.  When  the  mould  was  swept  up  the 
core  prints  were  also  formed. 

A,  shows  the  sweep  for  forming  the  bottom  part  of  the 
mould,  and  TF,  the  sweep  for  forming  the  outside  diameter 
over  which  the  cope  is  built.  The  elevation  shows  the 
bottom  half  of  the  mould  all  ready  for  having  the  bricks 
built  to  form  the  cope.  P  P,  is  the  iron  lifting-plate, 
which,  as  seen  in  the  plan,  is  one  continuous  plate  entirely 
around  the  mould,  being  kept  back  from  the  ends  of  the 


TWO   WAYS   OF   MOULDING    CROOKED    PIPES   IN    LOAM.      141 

core  prints  to  allow  plenty  of  room  for  the  core  when  it  is 
placed  in  the  mould. 

Y,  shows  a  reliable  way  of  forming  a  false  mould  or  case 
for  building  the  cope  over.  Sometimes  the  top,  or  false, 
mould  is  formed  of  all  sand  instead  of  as  shown.  After 
the  brick-work  of  the  cope  is  completed,  it  is  best  to  cover 
it  over  with  a  plate  to  protect  the  bricks.  If  necessary, 
this  plate  can  be  bolted  down  to  the  joint  lifting-pla+e. 
When  all  is  ready,  the  cope  is  hoisted  off  by  4,  5,  6,  and  7, 
and  the  cope  finished  overhead.  The  false  mould  Y,  and 
loose  sand  in  the  bottom  is  then  all  removed,  and  the  bottom 
part  of  the  mould  finished. 

The  cores  for  both  of  these  pipes  were  made  in  the  ordinary 
manner;  cast-iron  core  arbors  and  plates  being  cast  the 
shape  of  the  pipes  on  which  the  cores  were  swept  up  with 
common  core  sand.  When  dried,  the  halves  were  pasted 
together  for  the  lower  casting,  but  for  the  upper  one,  the 
halves  were  not  pasted  together. 

After  the  joints  were  rubbed  together,  so  as  to  make  the 
core  of  the  right  diameter,  the  bottom  half  of  the  core 
was  set  in  the  mould,  and  the  top  half  was  set  on,  without 
using  any  paste  whatever,  thereby  saving  the  labor  of  bolt- 
ing the  halves  together,  or  using  heavy  straps  to  lift  the 
core  by. 

The  figures  on  the  lower  cut,  1,  2,  3,  4,  and  5,  show  the 
position  of  the  pouring  gates.  This  casting  was  poured  by 
having  the  iron  drop  on  the  top  of  the  core,  which,  for 
thin  castings,  is  better  than  having  the  casting  poured  from 
the  bottom,  in  which  case,  by  the  time  the  iron  fills  up  to 
the  top,  it  is  apt  to  be  dull,  and  cause  the  top  of  the  casting 
to  be  cold  shut. 

Sometimes,  when  making  such  pipes,  the  core  is  made 
similar  to  that  known  as  a  loam  core.  The  bottom  half  of 
the  core  is  made  by  using  an  iron  pricked  frame  the  shape 


142  LOAM    MOULDING. 

of  the  pipe  wanted.  The  frame  is  set  on  an  iron  plate 
made  also  the  shape  of  the  pipe,  such  plate  being  W'  wider 
than  the  diameter  of  the  core,  so  as  to  leave  room  for  the 
sweep  to  work  in.  When  forming  the  core,  use  the  prickered 
frame  as  the  center  portion,  filled  with  coarse  cinders  or 
gravel,  to  take  the  vent  off ;  the  frame  is  then  wedged  full 
of  bricks,  so  as  to  leave  room  for  an  ordinary  coat  of  loam 
which  is  swept  on,  and  the  bottom  half  of  the  core  is 
formed  by  the  use  of  such  ,a  sweep  as  is  shown  at  W.  This 
half  core  is  run  in  an  oven  and  dried,  while  the  bottom  part 
of  the  mould  is  being  swept  or  bricked  up,  as  shown  by  the 
elevation  of  the  lower  plan  of  making  a  pipe.  When  the 
bottom  half  of  the  mould  is  ready,  the  half  core  is  taken 
out,  and  rolled  over  on  a  bed  of  sand ;  then,  by  the  lifting- 
hooks  or  screw  holes  provided  in  the  iron  core  frame,  it  is 
hoisted  up  and  set  in  the  bottom  half  of  the  mould,  the 
space  left  open  to  form  the  thickness  of  the  casting  is  then 
filled  up  with  dry  sand.  This  leaves  the  bottom  half  of  the 
mould  formed  as  far  as  the  making  of  the  core  and  mould  is 
concerned.  The  frame  which  was  used  for  sweeping  up  the 
bottom  part  of  the  mould  is  reset,  and  the  top  half  of  the 
core  is  bricked  and  swept  up.  A  thickness  is  then  swept  on 
over  the  top  half  of  the  core,  and  after  the  wooden  flange 
patterns  have  been  secured  to  their  places,  the  forming- 
frame  is  then  taken  off,  and  a  joint  lifting-plate,  as  shown 
at  P  P,  is  then  set  on,  and  the  cope  built  up.  After  being 
lifted  off,  the  thickness  is  taken  off,  and  the  whole  core  is 
hoisted  out,  and  each  part  being  finished,  is  separately  set 
in  the  oven  to  be  dried.  The  closing  of  the  mould,  and 
chappleting  of  the  core,  is  done  in  the  same  way  as  if  a  dry 
sand  core  had  been  used. 

Square  pipes  are  often  made  after  the  above  plan,  as  far 
as  principle  is  concerned  ;  the  ways  and  manner  of  sweep- 
ing are  often  changed  in  order  to  form  different  angles. 


TWO  WAYS   OF   MOULDING   CROOKED   PIPES   IK   LOAM.      143 

To  make  the  thickness  on  a  straight  side,  where  it  would  be 
difficult  for  green  sand  to  stay,  often  a  flat  loam  cake  is 
nailed  instead  of  waiting  for  loam  and  pieces  of  bricks  to 
get  stiff.  In  lifting  a  cope  from  a  square  print  or  any  part 
of  a  mould,  where  there  would  be  danger  of  it  breaking  or 
pulling  up  the  mould  or  prints.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  lay 
some  thin  slabs  of  wood  between  the  two  parts,  and  before 
the  loam  gets  too  stiff  or  hard  pull  them  out,  and  thus 
leave  an  open  space  between  the  core  and  the  outside  mould, 
allowing  a  little  play  when  lifting  off  the  cope. 


144  LOAM   MOULDING. 


MOULDING  LARGE    QUARTER-TURN  PIPES 
IN  LOAM. 

THE  versatility  of  loam  moulding,  or  the  aptness  of  the 
moulder  to  change  from  one  course  of  treatment  to  another, 
is  generally  caused  by  some  crookedness  in  the  shape  or  form 
of  the  casting  to  be  made. 

The  quarter-turn  pipe  pattern  shown  is  a  full  wooden  one, 
and  the  moulder  who  had  it  made  must  have  well  considered 
all  the  essential  points  before  ordering  it,  as  the  cost  of 
making  such  a  pattern  must  have  been  considerable.  As 
this  job  was  a  standard  one,  the  full  pattern  would  pay 
for  itself  in  the  saving  of  labor  in  moulding  it  in  a  short 
time. 

Upon  page  159  is  advocated  the  use  of  sweeps  instead  of 
patterns  for  making  loam  castings,  and  lest  some  may  think 
there  is  a  lack  of  harmony,  they  should  remember  that  I 
advocated  their  use  when  it  was  practicable  to  use  them, 
and  not  under  all  circumstances. 

In  the  case  of  this  quarter-turn  pipe,  there  is  not  much 
more  than  two  feet  square,  but  would  require  a  sweep  of  a 
different  shape  to  sweep  the  mould  with.  Some  will  say  the 
pattern  might  have  been  made  a  skeleton,  or  the  pipe  cast 
flatways  by  using  a  frame  and  sweep.  I  think,  however, 
the  plan  shown  is  the  most  practicable. 

These  quarter-turn  pipes  were  bolted  to  the  large  pipes 
cast  in  green  sand,  the  manner  of  moulding  of  which  is 
shown  in  page  78.  In  making  the  rigging  for  moulding 


MOULDING    LAEGE   QUARTER-TURN   PIPES   IN   LOAM.      145 

the  quarter-turn  pipes,  the  bottom  plate  and  lifting  ring 
were  cast  very  thick,  as  they  had  to  carry  a  heavy  weight. 
Had  they  been  lighter,  they  would  have  been  liable  to  have 
sprung,  so  as  to  cause  the  mould  or  brick-work  to  crack 
open. 

The  bottom  plate  is  set  solid  on  iron  bearings.  The  lift- 
ing-ring is  then  set  on  even  and  true  with  the  outside  edge 
of  the  bottom  plates,  after  which  the  full  pattern  is  set  on 
and  blocked  up  in  position  as  shown.  The  brick-work  is  then 
built  under  it,  using  a  light  straight  edge,  and  having  for  a 
guide  the  edge  of  the  lower  flange,  and  the  inside  face  of  the 
lifting-ring  to  form  the  bevel  joint,  which  separates  the  out- 
side from  the  inside  part  of  the  mould.  This  joint  also 
forms  a  guide  to  close  the  mould  together  by. 

The  inside  face  of  this  lifting-ring  should  be  well  oiled 
when  it  is  first  set  on,  to  prevent  the  wet  loam  from  sticking 
to  it.  When  finishing  up  this  joint,  it  is  well  oiled,  and 
parting  sand  is  sprinkled  over  it.  Charcoal  blacking,  wet 
with  water,  could  be  used  instead  of  oil,  to  make  the  outside 
part  from  the  bevel  joint.  Charcoal  is  a  very  light  substance, 
and  when  the  water  evaporates  from  it,  the  charcoal  returns 
to  its  original  dusty  state.  Therefore  when  the  charcoal 
blacking  is  brushed  on  to  form  a  joint,  the  loam,  as  it  stiffens, 
absorbs  the  water,  leaving  a  thin  layer  of  dusty  charcoal, 
which  makes  a  joint  between  parts  of  moulds  that  are  to  be 
separated. 

When  building  this  brick-work  under  the  pattern,  it  is 
built  so  as  to  form  body,  or  thickness  of  wall,  enough  for 
the  core  to  be  built  on;  and  at  the  same  time  the  core  is  built 
up  2  or  3  courses,  or  layers  of  brick,  so  as  to  hold  the  pattern 
in  place,  and  to  form  a  guide  by  which  to  set  the  pattern 
back  to  finish  building  the  core.  The  outside  of  the  mould 
is  built  first,  and  then  the  core.  To  make  a  joint,  so  that 
the  outside  part  of  the  mould  can  be  made  to  separate  in 
7 


146  LOAM    MOULDING. 

- 

halves,  one  half  of  the  outside  is  first  built,  and  then  an  up- 
right joint  is  made,  using  for  a  guide  the  parting  in  the 
pattern.  This  joint  is  then  oiled  or  blacked,  after  which 
the  other  half  of  the  outside  is  built  up. 

Some  of  these  pipes  had  a  branch  cast  on  them,  as 
shown.  The  small  pricked  loamed  plates,  E,  E,  E,  which 
should  be  about  two  feet  long,  are  built  in  with  the  brick- 
work for  supporting  under  and  over  the  branch  when 
the  pattern  is  drawn.  When  the  mould  is  being  closed 
together  to  cast,  after  one  half  is  closed  on,  the  round  core, 
Yy  is  set  in  a  round  print  formed  about  three  inches  deep 
in  the  main  core.  The  other  end  of  this  brancli  core 
is  bolted  back  against  the  half  print,  as  shown.  The  brick- 
work is  not  shown  on  the  side  of  the  pipe.  This  gives 
a  clear  view  of  the  wooden  pattern,  loam  plates,  and  branch 
core.  When  the  brick-work  is  built  up  nearly  to  the  top, 
a  light  cast-iron  ring,  D,  D,  split  in  halves,  is  set  on  to 
strengthen  the  brick- work.  The  outside  is  then  bricked 
up  to  the  top,  and  the  top  joint  made. 

The  pieces  of  wood,  1,  2,  3,  4,  and  5,  that  are  screwed  on 
the  pattern  to  hold  the  parts  together,  are  unscrewed 
and  taken  off.  The  three-winged  cast-iron  cross,  shown  at 
X,  has  three  chains  hooked  in  the  staples,  there  being  two 
cast  in  each  wing,  so  as  to  give  a  better  chance  to  regulate 
the  lifting  off.  In  the  cut  there  is  only  one  half  ring 
shown.  When  the  outside  parts  of  the  mould  are  ready  to 
be  separated,  the  lifting  irons  or  bolts  are  hitched  in  the  three 
ring  handles,  B,  J9,  B.  Half  of  the  mould  is  then  hoisted 
a  little,  and  should  it  not  hang  just  right,  lower  it  down  and 
adjust  the  stirrups  till  it  hoists  level. 

The  half  mould,  when  hoisted  off,  is  pushed  around  to  the 
oven  carriage  and  lowered  on  it,  which  operation  is  repeated 
with  the  other  half.  The  patterns  are  now  drawn,  and  the 
moulds  finished  and  run  into  the  oven  to  dry.  The  two 


MOULDING   LARGE   QUARTER-TURN   PIPES   IN   LOAM.       147 


MOULDING    QUARTER-TURN  PIPES. 


148  LOAM    MOULDING. 

half  patterns  are  now  set  back  in  their  original  places,  and 
pieces  are  screwed  to  the  outside  to  hold  the  two  parts 
together.  The  core  is  now  made,  and  with  a  four-winged 
cross  hitched  to  the  four  handles,  8,  8,  8,  8,  the  bottom 
plate  and  core  are  also  hoisted  on  an  oven  carriage.  The 
pattern  is  drawn,  and  the  core  finished  and  run  into  the 
oven  to  dry.  While  these  are  drying,  a  top  ring  (not 
shown)  is  made  to  cover  the  top  flange  with. 

When  all  the  moulds  are  dry,  the  bottom  and  core 
are  hoisted  off  first  and  set  level  where  wanted.  The  out- 
side halves  are  then  placed  on  the  bottom  in  their  place,  and 
the  top  covering  ring  set  on.  The  whole  mould  is  now 
ready  to  be  bolted  together,  which  is  done  by  bolting 
the  top  covering  ring  down  to  the  bottom  plate,  the  handle 
being  used  to  bolt  the  two  together.  The  mould  is  not 
sunk  in  the  floor  or  pit,  but  is  set  up  on  the  shop  floor  and 
the  sand  rammed  up  around  it,  a  staging  being  used  to  pass 
the  sand  up. 

When  the  mould  is  cast,  the  bolts  in  the  sheet-iron  curb- 
ing are  taken  out,  and  the  curbing  taken  away.  Then, 
by  digging  around  the  bottom  of  the  sand,  the  upper  portion 
will  fall  down. 

W,  Wy  W,  show  three  gates  cut  into  the  flange,  and 
R  the  upright  runner,  one  of  which  is  on  each  half  of  the 
mould.  A  flow-oif  gate  is  on  the  low  side  of  the  pipe,  and 
a  feeder  on  the  high  side,  as  shown.  The  castings  made  in 
this  way  were  good  and  solid. 


MOULDING    KETTLES   IN    LOAM.  149 


MOULDING  KETTLES  IN  LOAM. 

IN  the  engraving  is  represented  the  common  method  of 
making  kettles  in  loam.  The  bottom  plute  X  rests  solid 
on  three  or  four  blocks,  as  shown  at  PP,  the  inside  sweep  is 
attached  to  the  spindle  and  the  bevel-joint  D,  the  top  of 
the  flange  and  the  inside  of  the  kettle  is  bricked  and  swept 
up.  After  the  loam  has  become  stiff  and  hard,  the  outside 
sweep  is  attached,  and  a  thickness  is  swept  up,  on  which  the 
flange  and  the  outside  of  the  kettle  are  formed.  This  thick- 
ness is  generally  formed  with  green  sand,  keeping  the  sweep 
up,  so  as  to  sweep  from  TV'  to  |"  thicker  than  the  casting 
required.  This  gives  the  required  thickness  when  the  sand 
is  sleeked.  Over  this  sleeked  surface  a  coat  of  clay  wash  is 
brushed  and  dried  hard,  thus  making  a  solid  surface  to  build 
against.  To  form  a  joint  between  the  thickness  and  out- 
side, oil  and  parting  sand  are  used.  Sometimes,  instead  of 
keeping  the  sweep  up,  to  allow  sleeking,  and  clay  washing 
over  the  surface,  the  sweep  is  set  to  give  the  thickness 
wanted,  and  after  the  green  sand  thickness  is  roughly  swept 
up,  a  thin  coat  of  loam  is  swept  upon  the  green  sand, 
thereby  forming  a  smooth  surface. 

There  is  not  much  trouble  in  sweeping  up  a  plain  surface 
thickness  on  loam  moulds  with  green  sand,  but  where  there 
are  flanges  or  projections  it  requires  time  and  patience.  It 
is  a  good  plan,  for  instance,  instead  of  sweeping  up  the 
flange  thickness  with  green  sand,  to  form  it  with  pieces  of 
brick  and  loam.  In  some  instances  this  plan  is  adopted. 


150  LOAM   MOULDING. 

Sometimes  wooden  segments  are  used  to  form  the  flange 
of  the  kettle.  After  putting  on  the  thickness  the  joint  is 
cleaned  off  and  oiled,  and  parting  sand  sprinkled  over  it, 
after  which  the  outside  lifting-ring,  HH,  is  set  on,  and  the 
outside  of  the  mould  bricked  up,  as  from  B.  After  the 
thickness  has  been  swept  up,  the  spindle  is  hoisted  out 
and  the  hole  firmly  bricked  up.  The  outside  being  bricked 
up,  it  is  then  hoisted  off  by  the  four  handles  H.  The 
thickness  is  then  taken  off  and  the  mould  finished  up  and 
put  into  the  oven,  or  dried  on  the  floor. 

In  getting  ready  to  cast,  a  sheet-iron  curbing  is  set  around 
the  outside  of  the  mould,  and  sand  rammed  between  it  and 
the  brick-work,  the  same  as  in  similar  loam  moulds.  After 
this  sand  has  been  rammed  about  six  inches  above  the  top 
of  the  brick-work,  a  flat  plate  is  bedded  on  and  wedged  or 
held  down  by  the  use  of  an  iron  cross,  and  slings  hitched  to 
it  and  to  the  four  handles  of  the  bottom  plate.  When  ram- 
ming this  sand,  care  must  be  used,  as  it  is  not  like  ramming 
up  a  plain  vertical  loam  mould.  The  pounding  of  the  ram- 
mer should  be  lighter  the  higher  up  it  is  used  ;  in  fact,  the 
upper  parts  do  not  require  hard  ramming. 

The  lower  part  of  the  mould  should  be  rammed  solid  and 
hard,  as  there  is  considerable  strain  there  ;  but  for  the  top, 
if  the  sand  is  firmly  tramped  and  the  plate  solidly  bedded 
down,  it  will  require  but  very  light  ramming. 

For  running  kettles  moulded  in  this  way  a  number  of 
small  grates  are  in  general  set  around  the  top,  one  being 
shown  at  E.  If  run  from  the  bottom,  such  castings  are 
likely  not  to  be  solid,  because  the  iron  gets  dull  before  it 
reaches  the  top,  and  also  because  the  dirt  has  a  better 
chance  to  gather  in  lumps  or  streaks,  thereby  making 
spongy  iron.  Even  when  the  casting  is  poured  from  the 
top  there  will  be  more  or  less  dirt,  but  it  will  not  be  so  bad 
as  when  run  from  the  bottom. 


MOULDING    KETTLES   IK   LOAM- 


151 


DEVICE   FOE   MOULDING   KETTLES   IN  LOAM. 


152  LOAM   MOULDING. 

It  is  very  important  in  casting  kettles  to  properly  carry  off 
the  vent  from  the  inside  of  the  core. 

Not  many  years  ago  an  accident  happened  to  a  moulder, 
an  acquaintance  of  the  author,  that  came  near  costing  him 
his  life  and  setting  fire  to  the  shop,  by  the  blowing  up  of  the 
mould  when  being  cast.  When  the  mould  was  nearly  full 
of  iron,  there  was  an  explosion  that  threw  out  the  most  of 
the  iron  in  the  mould.  The  trouble  was  in  making  no  pro- 
vision for  vent  except  one  small  tube  or  pipe,  and  the  mould 
being  poured  fast,  gas  was  generated  rapidly,  producing 
what  is  sometimes  called  fire-damp.  There  being  only  one 
pipe  and  lighted  with  shavings,  the  gas  took  fire,  and  running 
downwards  to  the  gas  inside  the  brick  mould,  it  instantly 
exploded. 

In  moulds  that  have  a  confined  air  space,  when  the  gas  of 
the  mould  is  driven  by  the  heat  of  the  melted  iron  it  exerts 
a  pressure.  This  pressure,  if  given  a  good  chance  to  escape, 
relieves  itself  without  doing  any  harm.  To  provide  a  proper 
escape,  the  bottom  part  of  such  moulds  are  better  if  left 
open ;  as,  for  instance,  in  ramming  up  the  mould,  shown 
in  tho  cut,  instead  of  letting  the  curbing  come  down  below 
the  bottom  of  the  mould,  as  shown  at  T,  let  the  curbing  rest 
on  the  handles,  or  on  some  blocks,  so.  as  to  be  up  above  the 
bottom  of  the  mould,  as  shown  at  A.  By  this  means,  when 
the  mould  is  rammed  up,  the  underneath  portion  is  all  left 
open,  and  when  the  mould  is  being  poured,  no  fears  of  an 
explosion  from  foul  gas  taking  fire  need  be  entertained. 

This  is  applicable  to  the  casting  of  steam  cylinders  having 
one  head  cast  in,  or  hollow  castings  that  have  the  bottom 
cast  up.  Many  moulders,  to  avoid  trouble  with  such  cast- 
ings, will  fill  up  all  the  open  space  with  dry  dust  or  fine 
cinders. 

If  a  mould  cannot  be  left  entirely  open  around  the  bottom, 
there  should  be  two  pipes,  or  openings  (the  larger  the  better), 


MOULDING   KETTLES   IN   LOAM.  153 

which  will  form  a,  draft  and  give  more  chance  for  the  gas  to 
escape. 

When  gases  explode,  the  explosion  is  caused  by  heat  or 
flame.  Gases  can  be  raised  to  such  a  temperature  as  to 
ignite  themselves,  which  will  account  for  the  explosion  of 
moulds  where  fire  cannot  reach  the  vents. 

Moulders  sometimes  use  what  is  called  a  cold  vent,  which 
works  well  for  some  classes  of  green  sand  moulds  ;  but  for 
such  loam  moulds  as  the  one  shown  in  the  cut,  they  are 
not  used. 

A  cold  vent  is  one  where  the  vent  pipe  is  led  away  from 
the  mould  to  insure  it  against  being  lighted  by  any  flying 
sparks,  so  as  to  have  the  vent  come  oif  without  burning. 

If  we  can  by  setting  fire  to  shavings  underneath  a  loam 
mould  or  core,  set  on  fire  the  inflammable  gases  as  soon  as 
they  are  driven  out  of  the  mould,  the  explosion,  if  any 
occurs,  will  be  very  light,  and  with  the  gases  once  on  fire, 
and  good  outlets  for  their  escape,  there  will  be  no  danger. 
But  should  we  wait  until  there  is  a  large  volume  of  gases 
generated  and  then  set  fire  to  them,  it  will  be  dangerous. 
7* 


LOAM   MOULDING. 


CASTING  ANVIL  BLOCKS. 

UNDOUBTEDLY  the  heaviest  castings  ever  made  have  been 
for  anvil  blocks.  One  casting  for  this  purpose,  made  in 
Russia,  weighed  600  tons,  while  in  this  country  one  has  been 
made  weighing  160  tons. 

The  cut  represents  different  ways  of  moulding  anvil 
blocks.  The  main  point  to  be  considered  in  making  such 
a  class  of  casting  is  to  have  good,  solid,  ground  bearings  and 
a  strong  bottom  plate,  so  as  to  support  and  not  allow  the 
bottom  portion  of  the  mould  to  sink  away  when  the  weight 
of  the  heavy  mass  of  iron  comes  upon  it. 

The  heavier  the  mass  of  iron  the  thicker  should  be  the 
under  brick- work.  A  body  of  metal  that  will  keep  in  a 
liquid  state  for  two  hours  should  not  have  less  than  two 
layers  of  bricks  to  form  the  bottom  of  the  mould,  and  for 
each  additional  hour  there  should  be  added  a  course  of  brick, 
until  there  are  six  or  seven  courses,  which  should  be  sufficient 
for  any  casting.  For  very  heavy  casting  the  bricks  that  are 
used  to  form  the  face  of  the  mould  should  be  good,  first-class 
fire-bricks  of  a  soft  quality.  For  the  bottom  part  of  the 
mould  it  is  better  to  have  at  least  two  courses  of  fire-brick. 

It  is  better  to  use  an  iron  curb  when  ramming  around  the 
sides  of  such  moulds,  than  to  depend  altogether  on  an  earth 
or  brick  pit. 

For  bolting  together  heavy  anvil  moulds  strong  binders 
should  be  placed  under  the  bottom  plate,  as  shown  at  XX, 
and  similar  binders  should  be  placed  over  the  top  of  the 
mould.  To  bind  the  mould,  having  large  surface  plates,  with 


CASTING   ANVIL   BLOCKS. 

«---~    r ". 
<& 


155 


1 


1 


156  LOAM   MOULDING. 

bolts  through  the  handle  of  the  plates,  as  shown  at  PP,  is 
not  a  very  practical  plan,  as  it  gives  the  center  of  both  plates 
a  chance  to  spring. 

Sometimes  there  is  an  iron  cross  used  over  the  top  plate, 
and,  by  having  the  lower  plate  handles  project  out  far  enough, 
slings  or  chains  are  hung  down  from  the  cross,  and  when 
hitched  to  the  lower  plate  handles  the  cross  is  hoisted  up 
until  the  slings  or  chains  have  a  strain  on  them.  Then 
blocking  is  wedged  between  the  cross  and  upper  plate,  by 
which  means  the  mould  is  held  together  without  bolts. 

The  foundation  plates  for  building  such  moulds  upon  are 
made  from  2"  up  to  5"  thick. 

The  casting  of  very  heavy  anvil  blocks  is  generally  done 
on  the  spot  where  they  are  to  be  used,  and  after  they  are 
cooled  the  block  is  turned  over  by  means  of  wrought  or  cast 
iron  trunnions  cast  into  or  on  the  block. 

The  common  plan  of  making  ordinary  anvil  blocks  is 
shown  at  the  left-hand  side  of  the  cut.  An  8"  wall  is  built 
up  to  within  about  6"  of  where  the  pattern  begins  to  extend 
out,  and,  after  a  joint  is  partly  formed,  a  center-plate  or 
ring  B  is  bedded  on  and  a  parting  made  ;  then  the  balance 
of  the  mould  is  bricked  up.  The  reason  for  using  the 
center-plate  is  to  save  the  work  and  the  drying  of  a  thick 
wall,  which  must  be  built  if  this  plate  is  not  used,  and  also 
to  part  the  mould,  and  thus  afford  a  better  opportunity  to 
finish  the  bottom  portion. 

Another  plan  is  to  build  only  the  straight  portion  of  the 
mould  in  loam,  and  when  this  is  dried  and  rammed  up  level 
with  the  top  of  the  brick-work,  then  set  on  the  top  portion 
of  the  wooden  pattern,  as  shown  at  Y ;  then  ram  up  the 
balance  of  the  mould  with  green  sand.  After  the  pattern  is 
drawn  and  the  green  sand  portion  of  the  mould  finished,  the 
mould  can  be  covered  with  a  loam  plate  or  a  dry  sand  cope, 
and  if  it  is  not  convenient  to  bolt  down  the  covering  it  can 


CASTING  ANVIL  BLOCKS.  15? 

be  held  down  with  weights.  This  method  of  moulding  is 
sometimes  adapted  to  save  labor  and  time. 

Sometimes  anvil  blocks  are  cast  open,  that  is,  without 
having  any  covering  or  cope  on  them,  and  sometimes  there 
are  heavy  anvil  blocks  cast  at  blast  furnaces.  The  mould 
will  be  made  in  loam  in  the  floor,  and  there  dried,  and  after 
it  is  dried  the  outside  of  the  mould  is  rammed  up.  When 
all  is  ready  the  anvil  block  is  cast,  there  being  no  cover  or 
cope  over  the  top  of  it. 

For  casting  anvil  blocks  wanted  in  a  hurry,  time  could  be 
saved  by  making  a  loamed  plate  and  having  it  dried  by  a 
fire  underneath,  then  set  this  plate  on  a  level  bed  down  in 
the  hole.  The  pattern  could  be  set  on  this  loamed  plate, 
and  then  the  entire  height  of  the  anvil  block  rammed  up 
with  green  sand ;  that  is,  providing  the  sand  is  good 
enough.  By  this  means  the  bottom  would  be  formed  with 
loam  and  the  sides  of  green  sand,  and  although  the  sides 
might  look  rough  there  should  be  a  smooth  bottom. 

The  section  of  a  loam  core  shown  hanging  to  a  section  of 
the  loam  plate  covering  illustrates  the  way  a  large  heavy 
anvil  block  was  made  upon  which  I  worked  about  twenty 
years  ago.  This  core  was  put  in  for  the  purpose  of  giving  a 
large  base  with  little  metal.  At  least  I  think  that  was  the 
reason. 

Another  thing  sometimes  practiced  in  the  casting  of  anvil 
blocks  is  to  make  some  holes  about  If  diameter  through 
the  brick-work,  and  before  ramming  up  the  mould  place  in 
bars  of  1£"  round  or  square  wrought  iron,  as  shown  at  H. 
Bearing  on  the  lower  rods,  pig  iron  is  piled  and  wedged  down 
by  the  top  bars  so  as  to  keep  the  pigs  from  floating.  This 
pig  iron  is  placed  in  the  center  of  the  mould  to  assist  in  the 
cooling  of  the  hot  metal.  The  advantage  of  this  can,  I 
think,  be  readily  seen.  It  is  best  to  have  the  pig  iron  that 
is  to  be  placed  in  the  mould  thrown  into  the  cupola  just  be- 


158  LOAM  MOULDING. 

fore  the  bottom  drops,  so  as  to  have  all  the  rust  burnt  off 
from  it  before  it  is  placed  in  the  mould.  In  the  dove-tailed 
core,  W,  can  be  seen  two  holes.  In  a  corresponding  section 
of  the  sides  of  the  mould  there  are  also  holes  made  larger 
than  those  in  the  core.  When  the  core  is  set  into  its  print 
and  placed  right,  rods  are  passed  through  the  core  from  one 
side  of  the  mould  to  the  other,  and  then  the  rods  are 
wedged  down  by  filling  up  the  holes  in  the  mould  or  brick- 
work with  pieces  of  brick  and  stiff  loam. 

This  is  a  safe  plan  for  holding  down  the  core,  and  is  far 
better  than  driving  nails  into  the  mould  at  the  ends  of  the 
core.  EE  shows  the  bottom  pouring  gates,  through  which 
the  mould  should  be  more  than  half  filled  before  any  iron 
is  allowed  to  go  in  through  the  top  pouring  gates  A. 

The  faster  such  moulds  are  filled  with  iron  the  better,  and 
the  iron  should  be  on  the  dull  side.  The  duller  they  can 
be  poured  the  smoother  the  casting  will  be. 

The  patterns  for  such  castings  should  be  split,  or  made 
in  two  sections,  the  piece  Y  being  the  top  section.  By 
being  so  divided  it  will  give  the  moulder  a  better  chance  to 
make  his  casting. 

A  nice  smooth  skin  on  such  massive  castings  is  very 
seldom  obtained,  and  some  moulders  will  say  that  it  cannot 
be  done  because  of  the  large  body  of  iron  staying  in  a  liquid 
state  so  long.  It  is,  however,  chiefly  because  the  loam  mix- 
ture and  blacking  is  not  as  it  should  be,  rather  than  because 
of  the  heavy  body  of  liquid  iron. 


SWEEPING   AN   OCTAGONAL   LOAM   MOULD.  159 


SWEEPING  AN  OCTAGONAL  LOAM  MOULD. 

THE  sweeping  of  loam  moulds  that  are  not  cylindrical  or 
round  in  form  calls  for  an  entire  change  in  the  manner  of 
operating,  and  often  the  moulder's  skill  is  tested  in  trying 
to  invent  some  rigging  that  will  work  well.  There  are 
two  or  three  ways  to  mould  any  casting,  and  that  plan 
should  be  adopted  that  will  cause  the  least  risk  of  losing  the 
casting.  The  plan  adopted  by  one  moulder  might  not  be 
used  by  another,  each  one  seeing  different  ways  of  hand- 
ling the  job  so  as  to  insure  its  safety  or  to  do  it  quickly. 
When  speed  and  safety  are  considered  and  combined,  it  will 
sometimes  require  the  highest  mechanical  ability  and  judg- 
ment to  make  them  work  together  successfully,  and  to  tell 
whether  the  moulder  has  adopted  the  best  plan  for  mould- 
ing an  intricate  piece  requires  the  judgment  of  a  thoroughly 
practical  moulder. 

It  is  a  question  if  there  is  not  more  pattern-making  done 
for  loam  moulding  than  is  necessary.  This  statement  is  not 
made  to  deprive  the  pattern-maker  of  work,  but  to  intimate 
that  the  less  pattern-making  there  is  done  for  loam  work 
the  better  it  is  for  the  mould  and  casting.  When  there  is  a 
pattern  used,  and  it  is  drawn  out  of  the  mould,  the  surface 
of  the  mould  presents  an  uneven  face,  full  of  hollows.  This 
is  caused  by  bricks  being  laid  on  top  of  others,  under  which 
the  mud  is  not  yet  dry.  If  the  loam  between  the  pattern 
and  brick  is  set,  and  cemented  to  the  brick,  when  the  top 
brick  is  rubbed  and  laid  on,  it  sometimes  presses  the  under 
one  back,  and,  the  loam  sticking  to  it,  leaves  the  hollows  as 


160  LOAM  MOULDING. 

stated.  In  some  cases  the  loam,  not  being  set,  will  stick  to 
the  pattern,  and  when  the  brick  is  pressed  back  there  will 
be  sometimes  a  cavity  left  between  the  loam  and  brick,  and 
when  the  pressure  of  the  melted  iron  comes  on  it,  it  may 
press  it  back  so  as  to  cause  a  swell  on  the  casting ;  or, 
should  the  air  or  gas  confined  in  this  cavity  not  find  escape 
through  the  joints  or  brick,  it  will  pass  through  the  loam, 
or  face  of  the  mould,  into  the  liquid  iron,  and  cause  a  scab 
on  the  casting.  The  only  remedy  for  this  is  for  the  moulder 
to  use  the  mud  as  stiff  as  the  job  will  allow,  and  lay  on  the 
bricks  with  care,  and  be  sure  they  are  properly  pressed 
up. 

When  working  without  a  pattern  this  care  need  not  be 
taken,  nor  time  lost.  Allowing  there  are  no  risks  from  the 
above  causes,  there  are  still  other  objections  to  the  whole 
pattern,  one  of  which  is  the  extra  work  involved  in  finishing 
a  mould  with  loam  built  against  wood.  The  wood  must  be 
rubbed  over  with  oil  to  keep  the  loam  from  sticking  to  it, 
and  with  the  best  of  oil  some  of  the  loam  will  stick  to  the 
pattern,  causing  the  face  of  the  mould  to  be  started  and 
leaving  thin  flakes  of  loam  hanging  to  the  surface  of  the 
mould.  Or  perhaps  the  pattern,  although  well  soaked  in 
water  before  using,  will  expand  so  that  some  joints  or  por- 
tions of  it  will  project  beyond  the  general  surface  ;  and  when 
the  pattern  is  drawn,  it  will  start  and  pull  down  the  loam. 
In  finishing  such  moulds,  if  the  oil  is  not  all  washed  from 
the  face  of  the  mould,  the  loam  put  on  to  fill  up  the  hollows 
will  not  unite  well,  and  will  be  liable  to  scab  the  casting,  or 
the  blacking  will  not  hold  fast  to  the  mould  when  it  is 
poured,  thereby  causing  blacking  scabs,  which  are  very 
aggravating  to  the  eye,  and  are  so  thin  that,  if  chipped  off, 
the  white  spots  will  look  worse  than  the  scab,  if  left  on,  and 
what  to  do  with  them  is  sometimes  quite  annoying.  When 
loam  is  rubbed  on  to  the  face  of  bricks,  and  then  swept  off 


SWEEPING   AN   OCTAGONAL   LOAM   MOULD.  161 

with  a  revolving  sweep,  or  with  a  sweep  worked  by  hand  in 
any  direction,  as  may  be  required  for  sweeping  between 
frames  or  skeletons  of  patterns,  the  moulder  is  sure  that  his 
loam  is  packed  on  to  the  surface  of  the  bricks  in  a  reliable 
manner,  and  with  the  sweep  and  fine  loam  he  can  make  tho 
face  of  the  mould  so  smooth  as  to  require  little  or  no  finish- 
ing with  tools,  which  saves  labor  ;  and  not  only  that,  but 
too  much  sleeking  with  tools  is  ofttimes  a  cause  of  scabs  on 
castings. 

The  octagonal  cuts  shown  are  the  top  and  bottom  view  of 
a  steel  ingot  mould,  the  elevation  of  which  shows  the  length 
and  thickness.  The  engravings  show  also  the  way  it  was 
moulded. 

Cast  iron  ingot  moulds  for  standard  steel  ingots,  such  as 
are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  steel  rails,  are  sometimes 
made  in  dry  and  sometimes  in  green  sand,  and  the  rigging  for 
moulding  them  is  constructed  so  as  to  make  them  rapidly. 
Ingot  moulds  weighing  about  2,200  pounds,  a  moulder  and 
a  helper  will  make  four  or  five  of  in  one  day.  The  ingot 
mould  shown  in  engraving  took  over  one  week  to  make.  It 
was  made  to  cast  a  steel  ingot  for  a  large  shaft,  and  may 
never  be  used  again.  It  was  made  with  the  least  expense  of 
pattern-making  and  rigging  possible,  and  seems  appropriate 
for  illustrating  sweeping  that  cannot  be  done  by  the  or- 
dinary means  ;  also  for  showing  a  plan  of  gating  and  run- 
ning that  can  be  used  for  other  eastings  with  good  advan- 
tage. This  casting  being  over  nine  feet  long,  and  smaller 
at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom,  it  would  not  answer  to  drop 
the  metal  from  the  top,  as  in  falling  it  would  strike  and  cut 
the  slanting  surface  of  the  core,  and  cause  the  casting  to  be 
saabby,  which  would  condemn  it.  The  inside  of  these  cast- 
ings must  be  smoother  and  more  regular  than  most  other 
castings  I  know  of.  If  a  cylinder  has  a  clean  scab  inside,  it 
can  be  bored  out,  but  if  an  ingot  mould  has  a  scab,  or  even 


162  LOAM   MOULDING. 

a  swell,  on  the  inside  of  it,  it  is  taken  to  the  drop  to  be 
broken  up.  After  the  steel  poured  into  an  ingot  mould  is 
set,  the  mould  is  hoisted  off  the  ingot  by  two  staples,  one 
of  which  is  shown  at  P,  and  should  there  be  a  swell  or 
scab  on  the  inside  surface  of  the  mould,  it  would  prevent 
the  steel  ingot  from  coming  out  of  the  mould.  Should  the 
scabs  or  swells  be  chipped  off,  the  broken  skin  of  the  iron 
would  allow  the  hot  steel  to  eat  into  it  and  unite  the  steel 
and  iron. 

The  length  of  this  casting  being  so  great,  it  would  not  be 
safe  to  have  run  it  all  from  the  bottom  gates,  as  the  iron 
would  be  dull  before  it  reached  the  top,  causing  the  casting 
to  be  cold  shut,  which  would  also  condemn  it.  When 
moulding  it,  we  made  a  runner  a  little  above  the  middle, 
as  shown,  so  that  when  the  metal  running  into  the  mould 
at  the  bottom  runner  came  up  to  the  top  runner,  we  could 
see  it  by  looking  down  the  large  riser  Z>,  at  which  point  we 
lifted  the  iron  plug  JF,  and  the  hot,  clean  iron  then  ran  into 
the  mould  through  the  top  runner.  Should  this  iron  have 
run  into  the  mould  before  the  iron  from  the  lower  runner 
reached  this  point,  the  top  iron  would  have  run  against  the 
face  of  the  mould,  and  probably  have  cut  or  scabbed  the 
mould ;  whereas  the  top  iron,  not  being  let  in  until  the 
bottom  was  run  up,  prevented  the  top  runner  from  forcing 
the  metal  against  the  face  of  the  core,  and,  as  it  was  iron 
running  into  iron,  the  danger  of  cutting  the  mould  was  very 
Blight. 

The  cut  R  shows  a  plan  of  the  pouring  basin,  the  distri- 
bution of  the  lower  and  upper  pouring  gates,  and  also  the 
riser.  The  runners  and  gates  were  all  made  in  cores,  and 
set  one  on  top  of  the  other  as  the  mould  was  rammed  up. 
The  lower  gate  and  runner  were  made  larger  than  the  upper 
ones,  on  account  of  more  iron  having  to  be  run  in  and  be 
forced  up  to  the  top. 


SWEEPING   AN   OCTAGONAL   LOAM   MOULD.  163 


AN   OCTAGONAL   LOAM    MOULD. 


164  LOAM   MOULDING. 

When  a  casting  is  poured  from  the  bottom  it  requires  a 
larger  runner  than  if  poured  from  the  top,  as  the  more  a 
mould  fills  up  the  slower  the  iron  goes  in.  The  iron  may 
rise  very  fast  on  the  start,  and,  before  a  high  mould  is  filled 
to  the  top,  go  in  so  slowly  as  to  cause  the  casting  to  be  cold 
shut. 

"When  moulding  this  ingot  casting,  an  octagonal  frame, 
X,  X,  the  same  size  and  form  as  the  bottom  of  the  casting, 
was  used  as  a  guide  in  building  the  foundation  and  bevel- 
ing joint  for  the  outside  to  be  guided  off  and  on  by,  and 
when  the  bricks  were  laid  high  enough  to  admit  of  placing 
a  runner  under  the  mould,  as  shown  at  M,  M,  a  sweep  was 
fastened  on  the  spindle,  and  a  level  bed  of  loam  was  swept 
up,  and  the  frame  X,  X,  laid  on  it  and  centered.  After  this 
the  outside  lifting  ring  S  was  put  on,  bricks  built  up  level 
with  the  frame  X,  X,  and  the  wooden  plate  B  bolted  on  the 
spindle,  about  8"  above  the  height  the  mould  was  to  be 
made.  To  get  the  faces  of  the  top  and  bottom  frames  par- 
allel with  each  other,  a  plumb  bob  was  hung  from  one  of 
the  top  corners,  reaching  down  to  a  corner  on  the  bottom 
frame,  and,  when  set  right,  the  top  was  bolted  tight  to  the 
spindle,  and  the  outside  bricks  were  laid.  About  every  two 
feet  loam  was  rubbed  on  and  swept  off  with  the  long  strike, 
or  wooden  straight-edge  F,  the  bottom  of  which  has  for  a 
guide  the  inside  of  the  frame  X,  X.  After  the  first  two 
feet  were  built  and  loamed  up,  a  light,  handy  straight-edge, 
put  against  the  face  of  the  mould,  was  used  for  a  guide  in 
laying  the  bricks.  After  the  outside  was  built  and  hoisted 
off,  the  spindle  was  set  back,  and  the  core  was  built  in  a 
solid,  reliable  manner.  Had  this  core  been  a  round  one,  an 
8"  wall  would  have  been  strong  enough  to  resist  the  pressure 
for  the  lower  two  feet,  and  the  rest  of  the  way  a  4"  wall 
would  have  held  it.  The  pressure  of  iron  on  a  round 
core  is  the  same  as  the  pressure  on  a  stone  or  brick  arch. 


SWEEPING   AN   OCTAGONAL   LOAM   MOULD.  165 

If  it  is  built  right,  the  more  pressure  the  greater  the  resist- 
ance. But  to  attempt  to  build  a  flat  surface  of  stone  or 
brick  alone  to  support  or  withstand  a  pressure,  either  in 
moulding,  bridge  or  house  building,  would  be  the  height  of 
folly. 

On  account  of  this  mould  being  too  high  to  be  admitted 
into  the  oven,  it  was  parted  as  shown.  The  outside  was 
parted  lower  down  than  the  core,  so  as  to  give  a  chance  to 
daub  up  and  dry  the  joint  when  closing  the  mould ;  for, 
should  there  be  any  unevenness,  or  a  fin  at  this  joint,  it 
would  condemn  the  casting.  The  top  section  of  the  core  is 
lifted  by  two  hooks  H,  and  the  bottom  section  with  the 
foundation  plate.  The  arm  A  is  for  holding  the  top  of 
the  spindle  steady,  and  Y  is  an  iron  block  bedded  in  the 
floor,  and  having  a  seat  to  hold  and  center  the  bottom 
of  the  spindle. 

The  cope  or  covering  used  was  a  perforated  iron  plate, 
daubed  or  rammed  with  core  sand,  and  having  the  lifting 
hooks  or  staples  P  built  in  it. 

This  ingot  casting  could  be  moulded  by  having  upright 
strips  of  wood  fastened  into  the  top  and  bottom  frames,  as 
shown  at  2,  3,  4,  and  5,  thus  making  a  skeleton  pattern  with 
which  to  build  up  the  center  core  first,  by  using  the  hand 
sweep  E  between  the  upright  frames,  for  a  guide  in  laying 
the  bricks  and  putting  on  the  coarse  loam.  To  finish  the 
core  with  fine  loam  a  long  straight-edge  should  be  used,  on 
account  of  the  casting  being  thicker  at  the  bottom  than  at 
the  top.  "When  the  core  is  loam  finished,  fill  up  between 
the  upright  frames  with  damp  moulding  sand,  in  a  solid 
manner,  and  sweep  it  off  even  with  the  outside,  over  which 
brush  some  charcoal  wet  with  water,  or  oil,  with  parting 
sand  sprinkled  over  it  to  make  the  outside  part  form  the 
core.  When  all  is  ready,  build  up  the  outside  against  the 


166  LOAM   MOULDING. 

thickness  surface,  and  with  the  center  core  bolted  down  to 
the  bottom  plate,  hoist  off  the  outside. 

Should  the  question  be  asked  which  is  the  best  plan  by 
which  to  make  a  good  casting  in  the  least  time,  I  should 
answer  that  the  plan  fully  shown  with  cuts  is  the  one  I 
choose  after  considering  all  the  essential  points. 


BUILDING    OE   LAYING   BRICKS   FOR   LOAM   MOULDS.       167 


BUILDING  OR  LAYING   BKICKS  FOR  LOAM 
MOULDS. 

THE  proper  laying  of  bricks  is  as  important  a  process  to 
the  loam  moulder  as  it  is  to  the  mason,  since  they  form 
a  support  and  outline  for  the  inner  and  smoother  and  orna- 
mental part  of  his  work,  and  to  build  up  brick  walls  or  cores 
so  as  to  stand  the  pressure  of  the  iron  when  poured  into  a 
mould,  and  also  to  hold  together  moulds  and  prevent  them 
from  cracking  open  when  moved  or  hoisted  with  the  crane, 
is  a  feature  in  laying  bricks  that  a  moulder  must  be  partic- 
ular to  do  well.  I  have  often  seen  loam  moulds  crack  open, 
from  no  other  cause  than  the  failure  of  the  moulder  to  break 
joints  when  building  up  his  brick- work.  The  cuts  Y  and 
8  show  the  way  brick-work  looks  when  carefully  built  and 
when  carelessly  built.  8  shows  all  of  the  joints  broken,  or  the 
bricks  laid  as  they  should  be,  while  Y  shows  the  reverse. 
Some  might  say  they  could  not  break  joints  because  they 
had  not  enough  whole  bricks  to  work  with.  This  in  some 
cases  may  be  true  enough  ;  but  is  it  not  also  true  that  there 
are  many  bricks  broken  unnecessarily  ?  Some  foremen  will 
allow  helpers,  when  stripping  off  a  casting,  to  take  pickaxes 
and  sledge  hammers,  and  knock  down  the  bricks  in  such  a 
careless  manner  that  hardly  a  whole  brick  will  remain  from 
a  mould.  Some  moulders,  when  requiring  half  or  a  piece 
of  brick,  will  break  whole  bricks,  to  save  the  labor  of  stoop- 
ing down  and  picking  up  pieces.  In  any  pile  of  brick  that 
have  been  used  once,  there  are  plenty  of  sizes  and  forms  to 
be  found  without  breaking  up  whole  ones  to  make  them. 


168  LOAM    MOULDING. 

The  time  lost  looking  for  every  little  piece  of  brick  might  be 
urged,  and  of  course  there  is  time  lost,  and  the  mould  con- 
structing may  be  delayed  by  stopping  to  look  for  pieces  ;  but 
in  building  the  next  moulds  out  of  the  same  pile  of  bricks 
it  will  not  take  the  moulder  or  helper  so  long  to  look  for  the 
whole  bricks  he  should  have  to  build  the  mould  in  a  reliable 
manner  as  if  the  pile  was  filled  with  the  broken  pieces  ;  and 
it  takes  as  long  to  lay  a  half  of  a  brick  as  it  does  a  whole 
one. 

A  loam  moulder  should  be  as  careful  of  keeping  his  bricks 
whole  and  in  good  shape  as  a  green  sand  moulder  should 
be  to  keep  good  flasks  in  order  to  make  reliable  moulds  and 
good  castings. 

A  loam  moulder  that  takes  pride  in  having  his  bricks  keep 
as  whole  as  possible,  will  train  his  helpers  so  that  they  can 
have  ready  for  him  what  sizes  and  pieces  of  brick  he  may 
require  as  he  goes  along,  and  any  one  breaking  a  whole  brick 
not  called  for  should  receive  a  reprimand  from  him.  When 
building  some  loam  moulds  it  is  as  essential  to  have  halves 
and  pieces  of  bricks  a3  it  is  to  have  whole  ones  ;  for  as  to 
halves,  we  are  sure  of  having  plenty  of  them  to  work  with, 
and  the  manner  in  which  they  should  be  used  in  building 
up  loam  moulds  is  represented  by  the  cut  B,  which  is  an  8" 
wall,  and  a  section  of  the  outside  part  of  a  cylinder  casting ; 
the  inside  bricks  that  the  loam  is  rubbed  on  to  make  its 
surface  smooth,  is  built  with  the  halves  and  pieces  of  bricks, 
and  the  outside  is  entirely  built  of  whole  bricks,  care  being 
taken  that  all  joints  are  broken  evenly  ;  on  the  top  of  every  G 
or  4  courses  of  the  two  4-inch  walls  there  is  built  one  row 
of  headers  of  whole  bricks,  as  shown  at  Nos.  1,  2,  and  3. 

In  building  a  mould  after  this  plan,  it  can  be  carried  up 
in  most  cases  as  high  as  5  or  7  feet  without  the  aid  of  any 
iron  plates  or  rings  to  hold  the  brick-work  together,  which 
it  would  be  necessary  to  have  if  nothing  but  pieces  and  a 


BUILDING   OK   LAYING   BEICKS   FOE   LOAM   MOULDS.      169 

few  whole  bricks  had  been  used  to  build  the  mould  with. 
If  a  core  was  being  built  up  with  an  8-inch  wall,  the  order 
of  the  half  and  whole  bricks  should  then  be  reversed  from 
that  shown  in  the  cut,  so  as  to  bring  the  halves  and  pieces 
to  the  part  of  the  mould  that  forms  the  shape  of  casting. 

There  are  two  reasons  for  having  the  pieces  of  bricks  next 
the  surface  of  the  mould  which  encounters  the  hot  melted 
iron.  The  first  is,  that  halves  and  pieces  of  bricks,  when  built 
in  a  circular  form,  will  result  in  an  evener  thickness  of  loam 
all  around  the  mould  than  when  whole  bricks  are  used  ;  and 
the  smaller  the  diameter  of  a  mould,  the  more  necessary  it 
is  to  build  this  part  with  halves  and  pieces.  The  second  is, 
that  halves  and  pieces  allow  more  joints  than  whole  bricks, 
and  thus  afford  more  openings  for  the  gases  and  air  con- 
fined in  the  loam  to  escape  through. 

When  bricks  are  built  for  thick  or  thin  casting,  there 
should  be  a  difference  made  regarding  the  openness  of  the 
joints,  the  thinner  the  castings  the  more  open  they  should 
be,  so  as  to  allow  the  gases  and  air  in  the  loam  to  escape  as 
quickly  as  possible,  in  order  to  prevent  that  cold  shot  and 
rough  skin  that  some  thin  castings  have,  which  is  more  fully 
explained  in  the  article  entitled  MIXTURES  OF  LOAM. 

The  joints  of  bricks  are  in  fact  best  when  made  open  in 
almost  all  classes  of  work,  whenever  it  can  be  done  without 
danger  of  having  cores  bursting  or  swelling  on  casting. 

There  are  ways  that  joints  can  be  built  open,  and  still 
reliable ;  one  is,  after  a  layer  or  course  of  bricks  is  laid,  to 
pack  well  all  the  joints  with  the  mud  that  you  use  for  laying 
the  bricks  with. 

The  way  to  tie  or  build  a  square  or  corners  of  a  mould  is 
shown  by  the  cut  £,  and  outside  corners  like  these  require 
more  caution  when  building  than  almost  any  other  part  of 
moulds,  since  the  least  weight  or  a  knock  will  cause  them  to 
tumble  down,  if  not  well  tied,  when  they  are  built  very  high. 
8 


170  LOAM   MOULDING. 

The  cut  H  shows  the  reason  why  some  castings  have  been  lost 
by  the  core  giving  way  at  the  bottom  of  the  mould,  or  at  a 
point  where  the  pressure  of  the  melted  iron  found  a  weakness 
in  the  brick  wall.  The  bricks  were  laid  in  this  case  without 
any  regard  to  breaking  joints  either  on  inside  or  outside 
cores,  and  whole  bricks  were  laid  at  random,  sometimes 
going  half-way  around  the  outside,  and  in  the  next  course  the 
whole  ones  would  bo  used  to  complete  or  make  a  part  of  the 
inside  circle ;  while  combined  with  this  unskillful  and  un- 
systematical  mode  of  brick-laying,  the  joints  or  openings 
between  the  bricks  were  not  packed  or  filled  up  with  mud 
as  they  should  have  been.  If  the  moulder  had  only  used 
the  whole  bricks  he  had  laid  at  random,  for  building  up  the 
inside  courses,  and  kept  all  the  halves  and  pieces  for  the 
outside  courses,  and  packed  between  all  the  joints  solidly, 
he  would  not  have  had  his  core  burst  in  when  the  pressure 
of  iron  came  on  it. 

The  cut  A  shows  the  way  that  a  casting  appeared  made 
with  an  8''-wall,  at  the  bottom  portion  X,  and  from  which  it 
commenced  to  sag  at  the  top,  a  4"-wall  was  only  built ;  the 
laying  of  the  bricks  in  the  4"-wall  was  not  done  in  a  reliable 
manner  ;  the  joints  must  have  been  left  unpacked  and  some 
distance  apart.  In  looking  at  this  casting  the  wonder  to  us 
is  that  the  core  did  not  give  away  at  some  point  when  being 
cast,  so  as  to  let  all  the  iron  run  out  of  the  mould,  and  it 
would  most  likely  have  done  so  had  the  core  been  built 
with  halves  and  pieces  ;  but  it  so  happened  that  it  was  built 
with  a  new  batch  of  whole  bricks,  and  the  joints  being 
broken  well  when  building  saved  the  core  from  bursting  in. 
Why  the  casting  did  not  swell  at  the  bottom  and  top,  was 
because  of  the  8"-wall  at  the  bottom,  and  at  the  top  the 
pressure  was  not  sufficient  to  squeeze  the  core  in.  W  shows 
the  way  the  casting  would  have  looked  had  the  core  been 
correctly  built  by  having  all  the  joints  well  packed  ;  and  as 


BUILDING   OR   LAYING   BRICKS   FOR   LOAM    MOULDS.       171 

this  casting  shown  was  an  actual  occurrence,  I  could  not 
think  of  anything  better  to  show  the  results  of  improper 
brick  building,  and  to  prove  that  in  this,  as  in  everything  a 
moulder  has  to  do  in  order  to  make  a  good  casting,  there  is 
a  right  and  a  wrong  way  of  working. 


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172  LOAM   MOULDING. 


VENTING  LOAM  AND  DRY  SAND  MOULDS. 

LOAM  or  dry  sand  moulds  require  that  some  parts  be 
vented  more  than  others.  There  are  often  castings  made  in 
moulds  that  are  never  vented  in  any  shape  or  manner.  This 
is  no  proof  that  everything  can  be  cast  in  loam  or  dry  sand 
moulds  without  venting.  There  is  not  nearly  the  percentage 
of  venting  required  for  dried  moulds  as  for  green.  In  green 
sand  moulds  there  is  steam  to  contend  with,  which  is  not 
found  in  thoroughly  dried  moulds.  A  plain  dry  sand  mould 
having  8"  of  sand  between  the  pattern  and  flask  would  be 
cast  with  less  danger  of  its  scabbing,  if  not  vented,  than  if 
there  was  only  2"  of  sand.  A  good  body  of  sand  in  a  flask 
allows  the  surface  gases  (and  steam,  if  any)  to  have  a  chance 
to  confine  themselves  in  the  interior  body  of  the  sand  ;  and 
when  there  are  no  holes  or  openings  in  the  flask,  it  will  re- 
main there,  for  there  is  room  enough  to  hold  the  gases,  and 
their  pressure  will  be  insufficient  to  force  them  through  the 
face  of  the  mould.  But  when  there  is  not  sufficient  of 
sand  to  hold  the  pressure  of  the  gas,  it  will  obtain  relief  by 
coming  to  the  face  of  the  mould,  and  pass  up  through 
the  liquid  iron,  causing  scabs  on  a  casting,  so  that  as  the 
body  of  sand  increases  the  pressure  of  the  gases  decreases  ; 
that  is,  when  there  is  no  allowance  made  for  gases  to  es- 
cape by  venting  the  moulds  or  by  the  flasks  having  holes 
in  them ;  also,  conversely,  where  there  is  the  least  body  of 
sand  the  more  venting  will  be  required.  As  a  general 
thing,  plain  castings  can  be  made  in  dry  sand  without  being 
vented,  when  the  flasks  are  in  sections  or  jointed  together, 


VENTING   LOAM   AND    DRY    SAND   MOULDS.  173 

as  joints  or  sections  leave  openings  through  which  some  of 
the  gases  can  escape. 

It  is  only  in  that  portion  of  the  surface  of  a  mould  which 
becomes  heated  to  a  high  temperature  that  gases  are  formed 
or  created.  The  surface  of  a  loam  mould  has  in  many  cases 
a  better  chance  to  be  relieved  of  its  gases  than  an  unvented 
dry  sand  mould,  on  account  of  the  openings  or  space  exist- 
ing between  the  joints  and  courses  of  bricks.  A  rod  or  stick 
rammed  up  on  the  outside  of  a  loam  mould  will  carry  off 
the  gases  from  a  larger  surface  than  one  would  rammed  up 
in  a  dry  sand  mould,  since  the  body  of  the  loam  mould  is 
more  porous. 

When  building  up  brick-work  for  loam  moulds,  the  joints 
can  be  left  open  more  or  less,  so  as  to  allow  the  surface 
gases  to  escape  backwards  freely.  Oftentimes  it  is  neces- 
sary to  have  brick-work  built  very  solid,  so  that  the  pressure 
of  the  iron  when  poured  will  not  burst  in  or  out  the  brick- 
work or  cause  the  casting  to  swell.  There  are  different  means 
used  by  the  various  shops  to  accomplish  this,  and  still  pro- 
vide a  way  whereby  the  gases  can  escape.  Some  will  use 
straw  between  the  layers  or  courses  of  bricks,  and  others 
will  build  their  brick-work  very  open,  and  fill  up  between 
all  joints  with  cinders,  rammed  in  solidly,  using  a  file  or 
thin  piece  of  iron  to  ram  with.  Again,  some  keep  a  suffi- 
cient thickness  of  mud  between  the  courses  or  layers  of 
bricks,  and  then  vent  between  the  courses  of  bricks  with  as 
large  a  vent  wire  as  will  possibly  go  between  them ;  while 
again,  there  are  shops  that  will  apparently  build  up  their 
brick-work  without  the  use  of  vent  wires,  straw,  or  cinders. 
Such  shops  generally  have  a  very  open  mixture  of  mud  and 
loam  to  work  with  ;  it  is  very  seldom  that  the  joints  of 
brick-work  require  to  be  so  compactly  built  as  not  to  have 
some  porousness  among  them.  A  good  plan  to  adopt  where 
both  good  venting  and  solid  building  is  required,  is  to  com- 


174  LOAM   MOULDING. 

pactly  fill  up  half  the  thickness  of  the  joints  with  mud,  and 
the  upper  opening  with  cinders.  Round  loam  cores,  such 
as  are  used  for  forming  the  inside  of  cylinders,  etc.,  are  a 
class  of  building  that  must  be  the  most  solid ;  and  the  reason 
that  such  cores  will  stand  closer  building  with  less  venting 
than  the  outside  portion  of  the  mould  is,  the  core  brick- 
work is  not  rammed  up  with  moulding  sand  like  the  outside 
part  of  the  mould,  and  the  brick-work  being  exposed,  the 
gases  can  escape  more  freely  ;  the  more  open  the  joints,  al- 
though compactly  filled  up  with  mud,  the  better  chance  for 
the  gas  to  escape,  since  the  mud  used  between  the  joints  can 
be  made  of  an  open  mixture,  so  as  to  be  far  more  porous  than 
the  bricks  used.  Hard  bricks  should  never  be  used  to  build 
up  the  face  of  a  mould,  on  account  of  not  allowing  as  free 
a  passage  of  moisture  and  gases  through  them  as  a  good 
soft  brick.  A  good  loam  moulder  understands  what  part  of 
his  mould  requires  to  be  vented,  and  also  what  parts  will 
receive  no  damage  if  not  vented.  It  is  the  same  when  vent- 
ing loam  moulds  as  with  green  sand  moulds  ;  flat,  horizontal 
surfaces,  corners,  projections,  and  flanges  require  to  be 
vented,  while  plain  vertical  sides  of  a  loam  mould  can  be 
built  up  without  any  provision  made  in  many  cases  for 
venting.  To  take  the  gas  or  vent  off  from  pockets,  projec- 
tions, corners,  etc.,  in  loam  moulds,  the  use  of  straw,  rods, 
or  pieces  of  ropes  or  strings  built  in  with  the  loam  and 
brick-work,  are  generally  used.  When  ramming  up  a  loam 
mould  to  be  cast,  rods  or  sticks  are  laid  about  every 
two  feet  apart,  against  the  brick-work,  and  when  there  is  a 
flange,  or  any  part  of  the  mquld  that  requires  to  have  the 
vent  taken  off  from  it,  cinders  are  connected  from  them 
to  the  upright  vent  rods.  Should  the  vents  be  any  special 
core  vents,  or  ones  that  would  be  apt  to  make  trouble  if 
they  get  smothered,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  cover  the  cinders 
vith  some  paper,  so  as  to  keep  loose  sand  from  mixing  in 


VENTING    LOAM    AND   DRY   SAND   MOULDS.  175 

with  them.  For  the  plain  parts  of  a  mould,  if  cinders  or 
straw  are  put  around  the  mould  at  the  height  of  every  foot, 
the  gases  or  vents  will  generally  find  their  way  out.  The 
cinders  or  straw  should  be  connected  with  the  upright  rods 
or  vent  sticks.  Although  venting  loam  moulds  is  looked 
upon  as  a  small  part  of  the  work,  it  must  be  done  with  in- 
telligence and  understanding. 


176  LOAM   MOULDING. 


MOULDING  ROLLS  AND  MAKING  ROLL 
FLASKS. 

KOLLS  for  rolling  mills  are  often  contracted  for  by 
foundries  that  never  have  had  any  experience  in  their 
manufacture,  and  their  success  will  depend  upon  the  work- 
man's ability  and  the  foreman  or  melter's  knowledge  of 
making  the  right  mixture  of  iron.  The  castings  may  be 
very  rough  looking  and  nothing  said  about  it,  but  let  the 
grade  of  iron  be  wrong,  and  the  growling  will  begin.  There 
are  hardly  two  firms  that  will  be  satisfied  with  the  same 
grade  of  iron. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  situation  in  which  I  was  once 
placed  trying  to  please  two  masters.  One  of  these  was  the 
superintendent  of  the  mills,  and  the  other  was  the  roll- 
turner,  who  had  the  turning  of  the  rolls  by  contract.  The 
turner,  to  a  great  extent,  had  his  say  as  to  what  foundry 
should  make  the  castings,  and  to  get  the  work  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  the  castings  soft  enough  to  suit  him.  Occasion- 
ally the  superintendent  would  give  us  a  call,  and  want  to 
know  how  it  was  that  the  rolls  could  not  be  made  harder  so 
as  to  wear  longer,  and  give  us  to  understand  that  when  So- 
and-So  made  them  they  lasted  a  great  deal  longer.  Our  only 
answer  would  be  that  we  supposed  they  were  all  right,  as 
the  roll-turner  had  not  said  anything  against  them  ;  then 
for  a  while  the  rolls  would  be  made  harder  until  the  turner 
would  commence  to  growl  again. 

As  a  general  thing  the  purchasers  of  roll  castings  like  to 


MOULDING    ROLLS   AND   MAKING    ROLL   FLASKS.        177 

have  them  as  hard  as  they  can  be  without  having  the  edges 
or  corners  chilled. 

About  the  first  thing  required  in  starting  to  make  roll 
castings  is  to  have  a  flask  to  mould  them  in.  The  style  or 
shape  of  the  flask  will  depend  upon  the  way  that  they  are 
to  be  moulded.  The  old  style  of  moulding  such  castings, 
and  one  that  a  great  many  shops  yet  follow,  is  to  have  a  full 
pattern  for  every  shaped  roll  wanted.  To  make  such  pat- 
terns costs  much  time  and  labor,  and  a  large  warehouse  in 
which  to  store  them  away. 

I  am  an  advocate  of  the  more  modern  plan  of  making  rolls 
by  sweeping  them  up.  The  cut  shown  is  a  flask  intended 
for  that  purpose.  I  have  seen  many  different  kinds  of  flasks 
for  such  jobs,  but  the  one  shown  has,  I  think,  many  good 
features.  There  is  one  point  especially  that  I  claim  should 
be  provided  for  in  such  flasks  in  order  to  make  good,  smooth 
castings,  free  from  scabs,  and  that  is  to  have  plenty  of  vent 
holes  cast  in  the  flask,  whereby  any  gas  or  steam  is  allowed 
to  escape.  As  a  rule,  there  is  no  allowance  made  for  gas  or 
steam  to  escape,  and  if  you  should  ask  the  moulder  that 
designed  the  flask  why  it  was  so  made,  he  would  tell  you 
that  it  was  for  a  dry  sand  mould,  and  therefore  it  did  not 
require  any  vents. 

In  the  end  of  the  flask  shown  will  be  seen  13  one-inch 
vent  holes,  and  the  same  in  the  cross  bar.  When  making 
the  roll  long,  £ "  or  £"  rods  are  inserted  so  as  to  run  the 
entire  length  of  the  flask.  When  the  mould  is  ready  to  be 
blackened  the  rods  should  be  taken  out.  With  this  system 
of  venting,  when  everything  is  done  as  it  should  be,  you  can 
rely  on  having  a  good  casting  free  from  scabs.  Such  vents 
also  greatly  aid  in  the  drying  of  the  mould.  One  trouble 
often  experienced  in  making  such  castings  is  having  to  pro- 
vide for1  making  large  and  small  castings  in  the  same 
flask. 


178  LOAM   MOULDING. 

When  the  casting  is  small  there  is  generally  a  heavy  body 
of  sand  that  the  bars  do  not  assist  in  holding  in,  when  the 
cope  is  rolled  over,  and  this  hanging  sand  is  liable  to  drop 
out.  Again,  the  bars  having  been  first  made  right  for  the 
medium-sized  castings,  the  first  thing  we  know  there  comes 
along  a  casting  that  is  too  large  in  diameter  to  be  admitted 
between  the  bars.  Then  the  bars  must  be  chipped  out. 

A  good  way  to  get  over  this  difficulty  is  to  make  the  bars 
so  that  as  large  a  casting  as  should  be  made  in  the  flask  can 
be  admitted  between  them,  and  then,  when  a  sweep  or 
pattern  comes  along  that  is  so  small  in  diameter  as  to  en- 
danger the  dropping  of  the  cope,  false  bars,  as  shown,  can 
have  pins  P,  P,  inserted  and  wedged  in  the  cross-bar  holes 
//,  H.  This  plan  will,  I  think,  be  seen  to  be  a  better  one 
than  driving  in  a  lot  of  rods  or  gaggers  to  hold  the  hanging 
sand,  as  is  usually  done. 

Another  point  that  may  be  noticed  is  the  plan  here  shown 
of  using  loose  plates  instead  of  a  large,  clumsy  back  plate, 
and  a  lot  of  bolts  or  clamps.  Of  course  a  back  plate  would 
help  to  make  a  flask  stiffer,  and  in  the  case  of  making  extra 
heavy  rolls,  I  would  recommend  its  use,  but  for  rolls 
weighing  from  three  up  to  eight  tons,  the  loose  plates  are 
safe. 

Sometimes  roll  flasks  are  made  with  the  bars,  sides,  and 
ends  all  in  one  piece.  This  plan  I  do  not  approve  of,  as  it 
not  only  costs  more  to  make  the  pattern  ;  but  when  a  flask 
is  thus  made,  there  is  more  or  less  danger  of  its  cracking, 
and  when  there  is  a  serious  break,  the  whole  half  flask  has, 
generally,  to  be  broken  up  and  a  new  one  made.  When  a 
roll  flask  is  made  in  sections  and  bolted  together,  there  is 
only  one  side,  one  end,  and  one  bar  pattern  required,  and  a 
flask  thus  constructed  can  be  made  longer  or  wider  at  any 
time  if  so  desired.  Should  any  parts  crack,  they  can  be 
readily  replaced.  The  handles  generally  used  for  this  class 


MOULDING   KOLLS  AND   MAKING   ROLL  FLASKS.       179 


SWEEP  FOR  MOULDING  A  ROLL 


180  LOAM    MOULDING. 

of  flasks  are  cast  iron,  and,  in  order  to  be  strong  enough, 
they  often  look  very  clumsy  or  out  of  proportion.  Trun- 
nions are  sometimes  cast  on  the  ends  of  the  flask  to  roll 
them  over  by.  In  the  cut  there  are  only  two  of  the  four 
handles  shown. 

About  the  first  part  of  a  flask  that  gets  broken  through 
usage  is  the  flanges,  and  often  castings  have  been  lost  from 
the  flange  breaking  when  the  mould  was  being  poured.  At 
E  and  B,  B,  B,  is  shown  a  reliable  plan  for  constructing 
flanges  so  as  to  stand  the  repeated  strains  they  are  subjected 
to.  Y,  I7"  are  brackets  that  give  strength  to  the  flanges, 
while  B,  B,  B,  being  level  with  the  rest  of  the  planed  joint 
when  the  two  parts  of  the  flask  come  together,  will  prevent 
any  straining  or  springing  of  the  flanges  when  the  bolts  or 
clamps  are  used  to  hold  the  two  parts  together.  The  space 
of  one  half-inch,  as  shown  at  A,  is  to  leave  room  to  pack 
sand  or  loam  between  the  joints  to  prevent  any  running  out. 
Such  flasks,  after  being  used  a  few  times,  will  warp  more  or 
less,  and,  although  the  joints  of  the  flask  were  planed  so  as 
to  have  a  good  bearing,  the  reheating  of  them  will  soon 
make  it  necessary  to  pack  them. 

To  fasten  the  two  parts  together  one  shop  will  use  bolts, 
while  another  will  use  clamps.  Either  way  will  answer  the 
purpose.  A  bolted  flask  is  safer  than  a  clamped  one,  the 
only  objection  to  the  bolts  being  the  trouble  of  unscrewing 
them,  and  keeping  the  sand  and  dirt  from  destroying  the 
threads.  The  objection  to  clamps  is  the  jar  given  to  the 
mould  in  hammering  and  wedging  to  fasten  them. 

Among  the  cuts  will  be  seen  measurements  for  the  mak- 
ing of  cast  or  wrought  clamps,  such  as  are  used  for  or- 
dinary roll  flasks.  Wrought  iron  clamps  are  safer  than 
those  made  of  cast  iron.  A  flask  should  have  more  bolts  or 
clamps  on  the  end  that  is  cast  down  than  on  the  upper  end, 
because  there  is  more  strain  on  the  lower  end.  In  such  a 


MOULDING   ROLLS   AND    MAKING    ROLL   FLASKS.         181 

flask  as  shown,  the  bolts  or  clamps  should  average  6"  apart 
at  the  lower  end,  and  8"  at  the  upper  end. 

When  possible,  it  is  best  to  have  four  or  six  bolts  put  in 
to  assist  the  clamps.  I  have  seen  flasks,  when  the  pins  were 
taken  out  and  clamps  put  on  in  their  place,  get  a  jar  when 
being  hoisted  up  on  end  so  as  to  loosen  the  clamp  and  cause 
the  two  parts  to  shift.  Clamps  should  never  be  all  wedged 
in  the  same  direction.  Each  alternate  one  should  be  wedged 
the  reverse  way. 

When  fitting  together  a  flask  for  sweeping  up  rolls,  the 
joints,  if  not  planed,  should  be  chipped  so  as  to  fit  closely 
together  ;  then  the  three  or  four  pin-holes  should  be  drilled, 
and  the  end  bearing,  W,  bored  out.  The  spindle  holder,  X, 
should  be  accurately  fitted  with  set  screws  before  the  flask  is 
taken  apart. 

I  once  worked  in  a  shop  where  the  moulders  did  not  use 
any  pins  to  close  the  flask  by.  They  would  use  the  bearing, 
W9  for  a  guide  to  close  the  lower  end  by,  and  for  the  upper 
end  pass  the  arm  through  the  riser  head,  and  feel  the  joints 
of  the  mould.  If  not  right,  a  man  on  each  side  of  the 
flask,  having  a  sharp  flat  bar  could  easily  move  the  flask 
as  wanted.  Iron  wedges  are  placed  between  the  iron  joints 
to  keep  the  joints  of  the  mould  apart  and  save  crushing. 
When  the  inside  joints  of  the  mould  are  even  with  each 
other,  the  wedges  are  taken  out  and  the  cope  let  down  to 
place. 

The  cut  in  which  the  handle  is  shown  is  for  illustrating 
the  process  of  sweeping  up  a  roll,  F  showing  an  end  view — 
the  spindle  shown  is  a  tube  with  solid  ends  forged  or  cast 
on  to  work  on  the  end  bearings.  The  idea  for  thus  making 
it  was  to  have  it  light  to  handle. 

Sometimes  instead  of  having  a  journal  turned  in  the  spin- 
dle, so  as  to  keep  it  from  working  endways,  as  in  the  one 
shown,  there  are  two  collars  fastened  with  set  screws  to  the 


182  LOAM   MOULDING. 

spindle,  so  as  to  have  one  on  the  inside  and  one  on  the  out- 
side of  the  lower  end  of  the  spindle  bearing. 

In  sweeping  up  rolls  the  sand  is  not  all  knocked  out  of 
the  flask  when  a  casting  is  made,  as  is  done  when  a  full  pat- 
tern is  used.  After  a  casting  is  taken  out  of  the  flask  only 
the  loose  and  burnt  sand  is  taken  out,  or  enough  to  allow 
of  from  2"  to  4"  of  tempered  loam  or  dry  sand  being  rammed 
in  to  sweep  up  a  fresh  mould.  In  ramming  the  sand  some 
moulders  use  only  their  hands,  relying  on  the  extra  damp- 
ness of  the  sand  to  make  the  mould  solid  enough. 

This  is  a  plan  that  I  do  not  approve  of.  I  know  from  ex- 
perience that  a  better  casting  can  be  made  by  working  the 
dry  sand  but  very  little  damper  than  green  sand  is  generally 
made.  To  have  the  mould  solid,  use  a  rammer  instead  of 
the  bare  hands.  In  order  to  have  this,  three  or  four  inches 
of  fresh  sand  adhere  to  the  old  sand,  there  is  a  coat  of  thin 
clay  wash  sprinkled  over  the  surface  of  the  old  sand,  and 
then  a  coating  of  mud  rubbed  over  that.  On  top  of  this 
the  tempered  sand  to  form  the  mould  with  is  shoveled  in. 

Sometimes  instead  of  having  sand  between  the  bars  the 
space  is  packed  in  a  reliable  and  solid  manner  with  fire- 
brick, and  then  every  time  a  casting  is  taken  out  all  the  sand 
is  removed,  and  the  mud  rubbed  on  the  bare  bricks,  for 
starting  a  new  mould.  This  plan  is  a  good  one,  where  a 
shop  has  three  or  four  different  sizes  of  flasks  to  accommo- 
date different  diameters  of  castings  ;  but  for  a  shop  that  has 
only  one  flask  I  would  not  advise  its  adoption,  as  there 
would  be  sure  to  come  along  some  sweep,  that  would  require 
nearly  all  the  bricks  to  be  cut  out  to  admit  it,  which  would 
be  sure  to  loosen  the  under  bricks. 

The  sweep  shown  for  moulding  a  roll  has  in  it  the  square 
and  the  half -diamond-shaped  grooves,  such  as  are  generally 
used  in  rolls.  The  diamond  grooves  are  easily  swept  up,  but 
the  square  ones  are  more  difficult,  and  often  require  to  be  well 


MOULDING    ROLLS   AND   MAKING   ROLL   FLASKS.        183 

rodded  in  order  to  stand.  When  sweeping  up  the  rolls  the 
grooves  and  surface  of  the  mould  are  swept  up  as  full  as  can 
be  with  the  dry  sand  mixture,  and  the  surface  of  the  moukt 
is  made  smooth  by  using  two  coats  of  loam,  the  last  one  be- 
ing about  as  thick  as  buttermilk.  The  beveled  edge  of  the 
board  only  is  used  for  the  finishing  coat,  which  should  be 
accomplished  in  once  going  around,  and  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible ;  that  is,  the  board  or  sweep  should  be  turned  slow  and 
steadily,  but  putting  on  the  loam  with  a  brush  must  be  done 
so  as  to  lose  no  time.  The  striking  off  of  the  joints  is  done 
by  having  a  straight-edge  work  lengthways  of  the  flask. 

The  joint  sweep,  also  all  the  roll  sweeps  are  better  for 
having  the  working  edge  of  sheet  iron,  as  when  they  are  all 
wood  they  soon  get  worn  out.  The  sheet-iron  plates  can 
be  fastened  on  the  wooden  sweeps  with  screws,  as  shown 
at^. 

The  templet  shown  is  for  a  guide  to  set  cores  by  to  form 
the  wobblers  on  the  roll.  At  S,  D,  and  R  is  shown  the 
plan  generally  adopted  for  the  gating  of  such  castings.  S 
shows  the  part  of  the  roll  to  which  the  gate  is  attached,  and 
D  and  R  show  two  different  forms  of  gates  used  to  cause 
the  iron  to  whirl  around  as  the  mould  is  being  filled  up,  so 
as  to  bring  the  dirt  to  the  center  and  keep  it  from  being 
lodged  under  the  grooves. 

Rolls  arc  always  cast  vertically,  and  the  hotter  and  faster 
the  iron  can  be  poured  in,  the  cleaner  will  the  casting  be 
when  turned  up.  The  roll  flask,  and  also  the  iron  casing  rig- 
ging shown  on  p.  217,  was  made  by  Mr.  William  Fitzsimons, 
of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  a  skillful  moulder,  and  one  having  large 
experience. 


184  LOAM   MOULDING. 


THE  SURFACE  OF  A  LOAM  MOULD. 

To  have  a  good  loam  mould  a  good  surface  is  essential, 
and  a  good  surface  depends  upon  many  conditions.  First,  the 
mixture  of  the  loam  must  be  correctly  made  ;  secondly,  the 
loam  must  be  put  on  in  a  reliable  manner;  and,  thirdly,  it  must 
be  finished  up  properly.  Loam  in  some  foundries  is  mixed  up 
in  mills  which  are  made  by  taking  a  large  flat  bottom  iron 
pan,  from  4'  to  8'  in  diameter,  and  placing  a  similar  pan  over 
it ;  and  in  these  pans  are  two  heavy  grindstones.  The  pans  are 
so  made  that  they  revolve  the  stones  as  they  revolve,  and  the 
loam  mixtures  are  shoveled  into  the  pans  with  its  water 
or  clay- wash  to  wet  it  with ;  the  heavy  stones  rolling  over 
the  different  parts  serve  to  unite  and  mix  them.  Another 
plan  sometimes  adopted  is  to  beat  the  mixtures  of  sand, 
when  wet,  with  a  rod  of  iron,  the  loam  being  on  a  wooden 
or  iron  bench.  Of  these  two  plans  the  mill  is  by  far 
the  best,  in  fact  some  shops  would  never  think  of  using 
a  loam  unless  so  mixed.  The  different  mixtures  of  loam 
used  are  many,  most  every  shop  having  a  different  mixture. 
In  some  places  a  natural  loam  can  be  obtained — but  this 
is  rare  ;  most  shops  have  to  make  their  loam  of  different 
proportions  of  sharp  and  loam  sands.  There  are  cer- 
tain conditions  or  qualities  that  should  exist  in  all  loam 
mixtures  alike.  If  a  loam  mixture  which  produces  good 
castings  in  any  other  foreign  foundry  were  brought  to  your 
shop  to  be  used,  and  was  handled  in  the  same  manner,  it 
would  be  your  own  fault  if  you  could  not  turn  out  as  good 
castings  as  the  foundry  from  which  the  loam  came.  A  good 


THE   SUKFACE   OF   A   LOAM   MOULD.  185 

practical  loam  moulder  can  tell  by  feeling  of  loam  when 
mixed  if  it  will  work  well  or  not.  A  sharp  sand  is  used  to 
regulate  the  loam  sand.  The  more  clayey  or  loamy  the  loam 
sand  is,  the  more  sharp  sand  must  be  mixed  in  with  it, 
until  the  practical  moulder  is  satisfied  with  its  consistency. 
A  simple  way  to  try  a  new  loam  mixture  is  to  take  a 
lump  of  it,  after  it  is  well  dried,  and  immerse  it  in  a  ladle 
of  iron.  If  the  iron  boils  after  the  first  bubble,  the  mix- 
ture is  generally  too  close  or  clayey.  Loam  should  be  of  a 
porous,  but  firm  nature  ;  if  it  is  too  porous,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  mixture  will  crumble  to  pieces  by  a  gentle  squeeze 
of  the  hand.  Loam  should  be  mixed  weaker  for  castings 
below  one  inch  in  thickness,  than  for  those  of  a  greater  thick- 
ness. A  loam  that  is  strong  enough  for  a  casting  four  inches 
in  thickness,  is  strong  enough  for  any  heavy  body  or  any 
thickness  of  iron.  What  is  meant  by  loam  being  stronger, 
is,  it  is  more  close  and  clayey.  A  heavy  thickness  of  iron 
will  scab,  just  as  a  far  lighter  thickness  will  with  the  same 
mixture  of  loam  if  it  is  too  close  or  clayey  :  the  thick- 
ness for  loam  put  on  bricks,  to  form  the  surface  of  a  mould, 
should  be  regulated  by  its  form.  A  thin  thickness  of  loam 
is  more  liable  to  cause  a  mould  to  be  scabbed  than  a  heavy 
thickness.  Loam  should  not  be  put  on  any  less  than  jj" 
up  to  f"  for  plain  surfaces  of  moulds  ;  but  for  pockets, 
corners,  and  flanges,  etc.,  loam  should  be  no  less  than  1"  in 
thickness.  Burnt  or  hard  bricks  should  not  be  used  to  form 
the  surface  brick-work  of  a  mould,  or  for  corners  and 
pockets,  or  any  portion  of  a  mould's  surface  that  is  liable  to 
scab.  Moulders  very  often  use  what  is  called  loam  bricks,  or 
cakes,  instead  of  using  the  common  ordinary  bricks.  The 
loam  bricks  are  used  on  the  principle  of  tlw  thicker  the  body 
of  loam,  the  better  chance  for  the  gas  to  escape,  and  thus 
cause  the  iron  to  lay  more  kindly  against  a  mould's  surface. 
To  make  loam  bricks,  use  a  loam  as  coarse  as  that  used 


186  LOAM   MOULDING. 

for  rubbing  on  the  surface  of  the  mould,  and  have  a  wooden 
frame  made  for  whatever  shaped  bricks  or  cakes  are  wanted. 
Then  set  it  out  on  oiled  iron  plate  ;  fill  up  the  frame  with  the 
loam,  having  it  mixed  as  stiff  as  will  work  easily.  After  the 
plate  is  full,  the  soft  bricks  are  then  set  in  the  oven  to  be 
dried.  Sometimes  whole  cores  and  large  portions  of  a  mould 
are  formed  with  loam  bricks. 

The  first  coat  of  loam  that  is  rubbed  on  the  bricks  should 
be  the  openest,  and  to  finish  up  or  form  the  face  of  a 
mould  use  finer.  Before  the  fine  finishing  coat  is  put  on, 
the  face  of  the  mould  should  be  swept  up  as  full  as  possible 
with  the  open  loam,  as  the  least  amount  of  fine  loam  that 
can  be  used,  the  less  danger  there  will  be  of  a  mould  scabbing. 
With  most  mixtures  of  loam  it  is  best  to  have  the  finishing 
coat  put  on  as  soon  as  the  rough  coat  becomes  stiff  enough  to 
hold  the  finishing  loam,  and  have  one  or  two  revolutions  of 
the  sweep  to  make  a  finished  face.  When  the  first  or  rough 
coat  is  allowed  to  become  hard  or  air  dried  before  the  finish- 
ing coat  is  put  on,  it  will  not  unite  or  cement  as  well  as  if  it 
is  put  on  having  the  rough  coat  as  above  described. 

There  are  two  ways  practiced  in  making  finishing  loam 
mixtures  ;  one  is  to  use  the  mixture  as  for  the  rough  loam, 
and  have  it  put  through  a  fine  No.  8  sieve  ;  the  other  is  to 
use  some  foreign  mixture  (for  receipts  and  mixtures  of  loam, 
see  notes  and  receipts  in  the  back  part  of  the  book).  While 
the  finishing  coat  must  be  fine,  its  mixture  should  not  be 
close  or  clayey,  and  it  is  better,  if  possible,  to  obtain  a  fin- 
ishing loam  mixture,  whereby  the  face  of  the  mould  can  be 
made  smooth  enough  to  receive  the  blacking  without  the 
use  of  tools,  as  the  less  sleeking  done,  the  less  liable  a 
mould  is  to  be  scabbed.  This  only  refers  to  swept  por- 
tions of  a  mould  ;  for  other  parts  that  patterns  are  used 
for,  there  is  more  or  less  sleeking  done  with  tools,  that  can- 
not  be  avoided. 


SWEEPS   AND   SPINDLES.  187 


SWEEPS  AND  SPINDLES. 

SWEEPING  green  and  dry  sand  or  loam  moulds  is  a  branch 
of  the  moulder's  trade  that  in  general  calls  for  higher 
mechanical  qualifications  than  making  castings  from  a  full 
pattern.  Sweeping  or  bedding  in  is  not  extensively  done  in 
other  than  jobbing  or  machine-shop  foundries,  hence  only 
a  comparatively  few  moulders  are  acquainted  with  the  pro- 
cesses ;  but  since  the  practice  is  becoming  more  common 
from  year  to  year  moulders  will  be  required  in  the  future  to 
give  more  attention  to  this  part  of  the  trade. 

In  the  cut  is  shown  a  rigging  for  sweeping  under  the 
bottom  of  loam  cores.  The  sweep,  seen  at  the  left,  is 
bolted  to  two  iron  arms  JT,  X,  which  are  held  up  by  two 
collars  fastened  to  the  spindle  with  set  screws.  The 
sweep  revolves  around,  and  the  spindle  remains  stationary. 
The  tapering  end  of  the  spindle  is  set  into  the  casting  Jf, 
the  outside  diameter  of  which  can  be  from  4"  up  to  8".  This 
casting  should  be  turned  up  on  the  outside,  true  with  the 
chilled  inside  spindle  hole,  so  as  to  have  a  true  surface  for 
the  lower  arm  and  collar  to  be  placed  and  worked  at  any 
point  up  or  down  on  it.  This  casting  is  bolted  to  a  plate 
from  four  to  six  feet  diameter,  and  the  plate  is  laid  level  on 
a  solid  floor.  The  loam  plate  is  then  set  on  top  of  the 
spindle-holder  H.  Bolted  to  this  loam  plate  is  a  casting 
having  an  upper  and  a  lower  flange.  In  the  upper  flange 
there  are  four  staples  cast,  two  of  which  are  shown  at  E,  E. 
The  inside  of  this  casting  is  bored  out  the  size  of  the  spindle, 
and  when  bolted  to  the  loam  plate,  as  shown,  and  the 


188  LOAM   MOULDING. 

spindle  passed  through  it,  there  is  no  danger  of  the  loam 
plate  being  overbalanced.  Another  plan,  which  would  in 
many  cases  be  better  than  to  bore  out  this  double  flanged 
casting  the  size  of  the  spindle  as  shown,  would  be  to  cast  a 
hole  in  it  about  one  inch  larger  than  the  size  of  the  spindle, 
and  by  having  three  set  screws  near  the  bottom,  the  top 
could  be  fastened  with  pry  wedges.  By  this  plan  there 
would  be  a  better  chance  to  regulate  and  level  loam  plates, 
and  also  it  admits  of  the  spindle  being  put  in  and  removed 
more  easily. 

Before  setting  this  loam  plate  on  the  standard  H,  it  is 
daubed  up  with  loam  even  with  the  face  of  the  prickers,  and 
then  dried  in  the  oven,  so  as  to  have  a  dry  body  to  absorb 
the  moisture  of  the  loam  used  to  finish  it  up  with  when  the 
plates  or  bottom  is  swept  up  as  shown. 

"When  this  spindle-holder  or  standard  is  used  it  is  generally 
for  a  large  core  that  has  little  or  no  bearing  on  the  bottom  of 
the  mould,  but  has  to  be  supported  from  the  top  as  in  the 
cut.  The  top  loam  and  covering  plate  is  not  set  on  and 
bolted  to  the  lower  plate  until  the  core  and  a  level  joint  is 
made  and  finished  with  the  sweep.  This  top  plate  having 
been  previously  swept  level  and  dried,  requires  no  sweeping 
to  make  it  have  a  true  face  after  it  is  placed. 

After  this  plate  is  bolted  with  four  bolts,  one  only  of 
which  is  seen,  there  is  a  row  or  two  of  bricks,  P,  built 
around  on  top,  and  a  sweep  forms  a  straight  face  the  same 
diameter  as  the  one  swept  on  the  outside  or  cheek  W,  so  that 
when  the  core  is  lowered  down  into  the  mould,  a  short 
straight-edge  placed  against  the  parallel  faces  P  and  W, 
will  center  the  core  in  the  mould. 

The  staples  E,  E,  and  A  are  for  hitching  the  chains  to 
hoist  the  core  by.  The  top  staples,  of  which  there  are  four, 
are  the  best  to  hoist  by,  but  should  the  mould  or  core  be  less 
in  height,  the  lower  staples  can  be  used.  When  the  core  is 


SWEEPS   AND   SPINDLES. 


389 


190  LOAM   MOULDING. 

finished  and  hoisted  up  from  the  standard  H,  the  hole  that 
it  leaves  in  the  bottom  is  filled  up  and  made  level  with  bricks 
and  loam,  apiece  of  plate  iron  having  been  first  wedged  in  up 
against  the  spindle  hole,so  that  the  pressure  of  the  melted  iron 
cannot  burst  through  the  bottom  when  the  mould  is  poured. 

When  setting  this  core  on  the  carriage,  the  bottom  is 
lowered  down  on  a  fiat  plate  having  on  it  a  bed  of  dry  sand 
for  the  bottom  to  rest  on. 

For  other  classes  of  work,  where  all  the  bottom  is  not 
wanted,  a  false  ring  or  spider  having  a  hub  6"  long  with  a 
hole  bored  equal  to  the  outside  diameter  of  H,  with  an  inside 
flange  which  is  for  resting  on  the  top  of  H,  could  often  be 
used  to  a  good  advantage  as  a  supporter  for  loam  rings,  etc. 

This  rigging,  for  a  jobbing  shop  that  does  much  loam 
work,  can  often  be  used  to  a  good  advantage  for  casting 
short  stroke  cylinders  that  have  one  of  the  ends  cast  in,  as 
it  is  now  often  done  ;  by  the  plan  as  shown  the  bottom 
could  be  cast  down,  if  desired. 

To  form  a  riser  head  on  a  cylinder  when  this  plan  is  used, 
the  top  flange  is  bricked  over  and  the  straight  part  of  the 
cylinder  carried  up  as  high  as  wanted.  When  making  a 
cylinder  this  way  the  outside  should  be  cheeked  off,  and  when 
the  cores  are  set  in  and  fastened,  the  center  core  is  lowered 
in.  A  man  with  a  lamp  underneath  can  guide  and  see  that 
the  center  core  does  not  touch  any  of  the  port  cores.  Then 
the  whole  mould  is  set  on  the  bottom  by  hoisting  it  by  the 
four  cheek  handles,  one  of  which  is  shown  at  T.  This  bottom 
joint  should  be  made  beveling,  instead  of  straight,  as  shown. 

The  gate  shown  is  for  filling  the  bottom  over  so  that 
when  the  iron  drops  down  from  the  top  it  will  fall  into  iron 
and  not  cut  the  bottom  of  the  mould. 

The  cuts  Y  and  R  show  two  styles  of  arms.  R  is  a  style 
that  can  be  worked  tight  or  loose.  When  tightened  on  the 
spindle  by  the  set  screw  shown,  the  spindle  must  revolvp 


SWEEPS  AND   SPINDLES.  191 

but  when  there  is  a  collar  screwed  to  the  spindle,  as  shown 
at  Z>,  D,  the  arms  are  loose  and  can  revolve  without  turning 
the  spindle. 

The  latter  is  the  best  plan  when  sweeping  with  a  spindle 
that  works  in  a  tapering  hole  long  enough  not  to  require 
steadying  at  or  near  the  top  ;  but  when  a  spindle  is  held  at 
the  top,  and  the  bottom  works  in  a  small  socket,  as  shown 
in  the  octagonal  loam  mould  cut,  there  is  very  little  fric- 
tion, so  that  the  spindle  can  be  turned  when  sweeping  very 
easily. 

The  arm  Y  is  a  very  handy  one  to  use  on  a  spindle  that 
is  made  to  revolve  in  sweeping.  This  arm  can  be  made  for 
one  or  two  keys,  but  it  is  best  to  have  two  in  one  to  be  used 
for  holding  heavy  sweeps.  The  advantage  of  such  arms  is 
that  they  may  be  taken  off  and  on  without  disturbing  a 
spindle  held  at  the  top. 

The  placing  of  arms  or  brackets  for  holding  the  top  of 
long  spindles  steady,  is  an  important  detail  that  is  very  sel- 
dom properly  attended  to.  There  are  very  few  buildings 
but  that  whenever  a  crane  is  turned  around  will  move  more 
or  less,  and  in  some  shops  the  loam  moulder  when  sweeping 
up  a  long  mould  has  often  to  sit  down  and  wait  until  a 
crane  can  be  turned  back  the  same  as  when  the  first  coat  of 
loam  was  swept  on.  Arms  or  brackets  should  not  be 
fastened  to  unstable  buildings,  but  should  be  secured  to  up- 
right timbers  sunk  deep  in  the  ground,  and  independent  of 
the  building  altogether.  The  board  or  sweep  bolted  to  the 
arm  R,  is  to  show  how  arms  should  be  made.  There  are 
shops  that  have  arms  made  so  that  a  sweep  when  bolted  to 
them  will  not  have  the  working  edge,  S,  on  a  true  line  with 
the  center  of  the  spindle.  This  causes  trouble  in  setting  the 
sweeps  and  getting  the  right  diameter  for  a  casting. 

In  making  spindles  they  should  be  made  even  inches 
diameter,  otherwise  they  are  apt  to  cause  mistakes  in  making 


192  LOAM    MOULDING. 

and  setting  sweeps,  li"  II"  or  2»"  makes  trouble  for  the 
moulder  as  well  as  the  pattern-maker,  as  it  is  apt  to  confuse. 
Two  inches  diameter  makes  a  handy  spindle  for  ordinary 
sweeping,  and  for  line  work  they  should  be  made  of  steel, 
turned  up  true.  The  larger  sizes  of  spindle  are  often  made 
of  wrought-iron  tubes,  or  of  hollow  cast  iron. 

The  spindle-holder  for  sweeping  green  sand  moulds,  that 
has  been  shown  so  many  times,  but  never  explained,  is  a 
flat  plate  about  24"  diameter,  and  the  tapering  hole  for  the 
spindle  to  fit  into  is  about  10  inches  long.  When  casting 
this,  the  tapering  end  turned  on  the  spindle  can  be  used  for 
a  chill,  being  set  in  the  open  mould  and  the  iron  poured 
around  it.  While  hot  the  spindle  is  knocked  out,  and  when 
put  in  again,  to  use  for  sweeping,  you  can  rely  on  having  a 
steady  spindle.  The  collars  should  be  used  on  this  spindle, 
so  that  the  arm  and  sweep  can  revolve  without  having  the 
spindle  turn.  This  makes  a  very  handy  rigging  for  sweep- 
ing green  sand  moulds,  as  the  spindle  seat  or  holder  is  light, 
and  can  be  quickly  set  in  any  part  of  a  foundry  floor. 

The  tapering  end  of  this  spindle  should  always  be  well 
oiled  before  it  is  set  in,  as  otherwise  the  damp  sand  and 
steam  are  liable  to  rust  it. 

As  the  sweeping  of  green  sand  mould  is  generally  done  to 
save  pattern-making,  the  proprietor,  as  well  as  the  moulder, 
has  the  advantage  over  others  when  he  can  make  a  casting 
with  sweeps  that  others  could  not  make  without  having  a 
full  pattern  to  work  with  ;  and  in  cities  or  places  where  com- 
petition is  active,  a  good  knowledge  of  sweeping,  in  all  its 
branches,  will  be  of  value  to  the  proprietor  and  moulder  alike. 


MOULDING   GEAR   WHEELS   IN   DRY   SAND.  193 


MOULDING  GEAR  WHEELS   IN  DRY   SAND 
OR  WITH  CORES. 

To  have  smooth,  even  teeth  is  a  very  important  feature 
in  the  manufacture  of  gear  wheels,  and  the  only  reliable 
way  to  make  good  teeth  on  large  wheels  is  to  have  them 
moulded  in  dry  sand,  or  with  cores.  In  almost  any  wheel 
made  in  green  sand  the  teeth  will  be  larger  than  the  pat- 
tern, as  the  sand  will  yield  more  or  less,  depending  on  the 
way  it  is  rammed.  Although  there  can  be  nice-looking 
gear  castings  made  in  green  sand,  the  same  pattern  moulded 
in  dry  sand  will  make  a  casting  that  will  run  easier  and 
quieter,  and  wear  longer.  A  variety  of  spur  wheels  could 
have  the  arms  and  hub  moulded  in  green  sand,  and  the 
teeth  in  cores,  or  dry  sand,  by  having  an  iron  ring  or  flask 
to  carry  them,  so  that  the  teeth  could  be  hoisted  and  placed 
on  the  oven  carriage  to  be  dried.  If  there  is  not  a  full  pat- 
tern to  mould  the  wheel  by,  a  segment  could  be  used  the 
same  as  is  shown  for  sweeping  up  gear  wheels  in  green  sand. 

The  sand  should  be  closer  and  tougher  for  ramming  up  a 
spur  wheel  than  for  ramming  or  bedding  in  a  bevel  wheel ; 
and  should  the  same  close  sand  be  used  for  the  bevel  as  for 
the  spur  wheel,  the  teeth  will  be  very  liable  to  scab.  Dry 
sand  in  this  respect  is  the  same  as  green  sand,  as  the  sides, 
or  any  part  of  a  mould  that  the  iron  rises  up  against,  will 
stand  harder  ramming,  and  will  require  less  venting  than 
the  bottom,  or  any  part  that  the  iron  lays  over,  or  on  the 
top  of.  It  is  a  good  thing  that  this  law  or  principle  is  as  it 
is ;  for  if  the  sides  had  to  be  rammed  as  soft,  and  the  sand 
9 


194  LOAM   MOULDING. 

left  as  open,  as  is  required  to  keep  the  bottom  or  flat  sur- 
faces from  scabbing,  the  side  of  some  moulds  would  fall 
down,  or  cause  a  deal  of  extra  rod-staying  and  other  precau- 
tions to  make  them  stand. 

A  yery  essential  point  in  making  gears  in  dry  sand  is  to 
blacken  the  teeth,  so  that  they  will  be  smooth,  and  not  show 
streaks,  or  lumps  of  blacking  on  them.  In  blacking  teeth 
the  blacking  should  not  be  thick,  and,  if  a  swab  is  used 
in  order  to  quicken  the  operation,  it  should  only  be  used 
for  the  first  coat,  and  a  camel's-hair  brush  substituted  for  the 
second  and  third  coats.  To  make  a  good  job  of  blacking 
requires  neatness  and  care,  and  a  moulder  that  takes  a  swab 
and  pastes  on  the  blacking,  washes  or  knocks  off  the  edges 
of  the  teeth  by  rubbing  the  swab  against  the  mould  when 
there  is  hardly  any  blacking  on  it,  and  then  attempts  to 
finish  or  patch  the  teeth  by  the  use  of  tools,  will  make  a 
yery  poor  job.  Teeth  should  be  blacked  with  much  care, 
and  so  smoothly  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  touch  a  tool  on 
them ;  for  if  a  good  job  cannot  be  done  with  a  brush,  it 
cannot  be  remedied  with  tools.  . 

There  are  very  few  shops  that  mix  their  dry  sand  or  loam 
alike,  for  the  reason  that  they  have  different  grades  of  sand 
to  deal  with.  A  suitable  mixture  of  open  and  close  sand  to 
form  a  loam,  or  dry  sand,  that  will  stand  the  fall  and  wash 
of  the  iron  without  scabbing,  is  generally  arrived  at  by  ex- 
perience, although  there  are  ways  of  telling  whether  new 
mixtures  will  work  right,  which  is  discussed  in  other  parts 
of  this  book.  Take  any  dry  sand-facing  mixture  that  works 
all  right  on  ordinary  castings,  and  mix  it  a  little  closer; 
put  in  one  part  of  sea  coal,  coke,  or  blacking,  with  from 
twelve  to  twenty  parts  of  sand,  and  it  will  help  to  make  the 
sand  peel,  assist  in  making  smooth  teeth,  and  give  them  a 
good  color. 

This  cut  shows  a  good  plan  for  making  gear  wheels  with- 


MOULDING   GEAR   WHEELS   IN   DRY   SAND. 


195 


196  LOAM   MOULDING. 

out  a  pattern,  the  teeth  being  formed  from  cores  made  in 
the  core  box,  as  shown.  In  the  box  is  seen  the  cast-iron 
core  frame,  rods,  lifting  hooks,  and  spike  nails  for  holding 
the  teeth.  The  face  of  the  box  X  is  made  to  be  taken  off, 
to  allow  of  drawing  the  remainder  of  the  box  without  break- 
ing the  core.  There  is  a  shrouding  on  the  top  and  bottom 
of  the  teeth,  which  is  formed  in  the  same  box. 

There  is  a  tooth  sometimes  used  in  gearing  that  is  the 
largest  at  the  pitch  line,  so  that  it  cannot  be  drawn  out  of 
the  sand  flatways  like  the  one  shown.  For  such  teeth  the  core 
box  has  to  be  arranged  so  that  the  teeth  can  be  drawn  out 
endways  before  the  core  box  is  drawn  off ;  and  to  form  the 
top  shrouding  there  will  have  to  be  separate  flat  cores  made. 

The  arms  of  the  wheel  shown  in  the  cut  were  made  or 
formed  of  cores  dried  in  the  oven.  They  could  have  been 
made  in  green  sand,  but  it  was  safer  to  make  them  of  dry 
sand,  as  there  was  a  deep  strengthening  rib  all  around  the 
center  of  the  arms.  In  moulding  or  forming  this  wheel, 
strike  off  a  green  sand  level  bed,  and  if  the  cope  is  a  wooden 
one  that  needs  gauging,  make  the  level  bed  hard,  ram  the 
cope  up  on  it,  soften  it  up  again  and  finish  it  ready  for 
setting  on  the  cores.  Then,  with  the  sweeping  board  at- 
tached to  an  upright  spindle,  strike  a  mark  around  on  the 
bed  the  diameter  of  the  inside  of  the  teeth  ;  raise  up  the 
sweep  so  as  to  clear  the  top  of  the  cores,  after  which  set 
around  the  teeth  cores,  using  the  sand  mark  for  a  guide. 
When  these  are  all  set  in  their  places,  screw  a  strip  of 
wood  on  the  sweep  that  will  come  down  and  clear  the  inside 
of  the  teeth.  In  sweeping  around  with  this  you  can  see 
whether  the  cores  are  exactly  true  or  not.  There  are  two 
things  that  will  have  to  be  watched  closely  in  setting  the 
teeth  cores.  The  first  is  to  have  the  cores  set  in  a  true 
circle,  and  the  second  is  to  have  the  teeth  where  the 
cores  join  together  the  same  size  as  otherwheres,  in  doing 


MOULDING    GEAR   WHEELS   IK   DRY   SAND.  197 

which  a  pair  of  calipers  are  useful.  It  takes  time  and  pa- 
tience to  get  the  cores  to  come  exactly  right,  and  they  may 
require  to  be  moved  several  times  to  get  them  so.  The 
circle  may  be  right  and  one  of  the  joints  wrong,  to  remedy 
which  the  circle  must  be  made  smaller  or  larger. 

In  making  the  core  box  there  are  two  ways  of  splitting 
the  tooth,  as  shown  at  D  and  H.  D  is  the  best  way  to  make 
the  cores,  and  H  the  easiest  to  get  at  the  joints  of  the  cores 
when  set  in  the  mould  for  the  purpose  of  blacking  and 
drying ;  which  should  be  so  nicely  done  as  not  to  show  in 
the  casting  in  the  least  degree. 

After  the  inside  joints  are  daubed,  close  or  daub  up  the 
outside  joints  with  mud ;  ram  up  the  space  between  the 
bank  and  the  outside  of  the  teeth  cores  with  sand,  so  as  to 
keep  the  cores  from  being  forced  out  of  their  places  when 
the  iron  is  poured  into  the  mould.  The  level  bed  for  set- 
ting the  cores  on  should  be  sunk  below  the  level  of  the  floor 
to  the  same  depth  as  the  face  of  the  wheel,  and  after  the 
cores  are  rammed  around,  go  round  with  the  sweep  and  see 
if  the  cores  have  been  moved.  If  they  are  all  right,  take 
out  the  spindle  and  sweep,  and  set  the  center  core  in 
the  print  formed  by  the  sweep.  After  this  is  done,  set  in 
the  arm  cores,  dividing  them  with  pieces  of  wood — two  for 
the  arms  and  two  for  the  rim.  When  all  is  right,  put  on  the 
cope,  and  secure  the  arm  core  vents  before  pouring. 


198  LOAM   MOULDING. 


MAKING    RETURN,    ELBOW,  BRANCH,   AND 
T-PIPE  CORE  ARBORS. 

THE  making  of  crooked  pipe  castings  is  generally  expen- 
sive compared  with  the  cost  of  making  straight  pipes,  the 
principal  feature  that  increases  the  cost  being  the  cores. 
The  lower  cut  represents  the  making  of  a  core  for  hot  blast 
return  pipes,  the  plan  being  that  of  Homer  Hamilton,  of 
the  firm  of  William  Todd  &  Co.,  Youngstown,  Ohio,  to 
whom  I  am  indebted  for  permission  to  illustrate  it.  The 
old  plan  of  making  these  cores  was  to  make  them  in  halves 
and  paste  them  together,  the  halves  being  made  in  a  wooden 
core  box,  or  swept  up  on  plates.  Sometimes  these  cores 
were  made  in  two  sections  and  butted  together  at  R.  When 
set  in  the  mould  in  whole,  the  core  irons  would  usually  con- 
sist of  wrought-iron  rods,  spliced  so  as  to  lap  by  each  other 
three  or  four  feet,  and  to  get  them  out  of  the  casting  re- 
quired time,  and  a  good  deal  of  pulling  and  twisting.  Some 
shops,  for  such  jobs,  would  cast  some  light  bars,  one  being 
in  each  half,  and  break  them  to  get  them  out  of  the 
casting. 

The  core  bar  shown  is  all  cast  iron.  The  straight  lengths 
are  made  as  at  P,  which  shows  the  end  view  of  the  bar,  and 
also  the  core  box  having  a  core  in  it.  The  round  holes 
represented  are  the  vents.  The  core  bar  at  the  rounded 
end  of  the  cut  is  also  cast  iron,  being  made  of  short  links 
held  together  by  having  the  projection  X  set  into  an  open- 
ing, or  between  two  lugs,  E,  E,  and  the  rivet  passed  through 
and  riveted.  These  links  have  also  a  guide,  F,  F,  cast  on 


RETURN,  ELBOW,  BRANCH,  AND  T-CORE  ARBORS.        199 

them,  so  as  to  let  the  links  bend  inward  as  far  as  required. 
If  it  were  not  for  these,  when  the  arbor  was  set  as  wanted, 
on  attempting  to  hoist  it  up  the  two  sides  would  close  to- 
gether. For  holding  the  other  ends  of  the  straight  arbors 
stiffly  in  place  the  arm  W  is  used.  The  holes  are  for  the 
vent  rods  to  pass  through  when  making  the  core.  This  arm 
is  put  on  when  the  arbor  is  put  together,  and  is  not  taken 
off  until  the  pipe  is  cast.  The  straight  arbor  on  the  right 
is  joined  and  fastened  to  the  end  link  by  two  hooks  and  a 
center-pin.  The  hooks  and  pins  are  attached  to  the  straight 


arbor,  detached  views  of  which  are  shown  at  D  and  H.  At 
D  is  shown  a  side  view  of  the  center-pin  and  one  of  the 
hooks,  and  at  ZTthe  end  view  and  the  sides  of  the  arbor  the 
hooks  are  bolted  or  riveted  to.  These  hooks  and  pin  fit  in 
holes  drilled  into  the  end  of  the  last  link,  and  when  taking 
the  arbors  out  of  the  casting  the  set  screws  are  loosened  and 
the  arm  W  taken  off.  The  pipe  casting  is  then  hoisted  up 
and  pounded  with  sledge  hammers  until  the  sand  is  nearly 
all  out,  then  the  arbor  on  the  right  is  given  a  turn  in  the 


200 


CORE   MOULDING. 


MAKING   CORE  ARBORS. 


proper  direction  when  it 
will  drop  out.  With  a  lit- 
tle more  hammering  the 
links  and  straight  arbor 
that  are  connected  will  also 
drop,  the  time  and  labor 
not  being  one-third  of  that 
required  when  wrought  or 
cast-iron  rods  are  used. 

In  making  this  core,  the 
iron  core  box  is  first  oiled 
with  cheap  black  oil,  over 
which    a    coat    of    thick 
blacking  is  brushed  on  to 
insure    the    core    against 
sticking  in  the  box.     The 
core  sand  is  then  put  in  to 
make  a  bed  for  the  arbor 
to  lay  on,  and  after  the  ar- 
bor is  bedded  down  solidly, 
the  core  is  rammed  up  to 
the  level  of  the  box.     The 
long  vent  rods  are  then  set 
in  their  places,  and  to  con- 
nect the  vent  of  the  round- 
ed ends  with  the  straight 
vent  rods,  a  band  or  loose 
rope  of  straw  or  hay  is  laid 
around  against  each  side 
of  the  links,  so  as  to  come 
about  one  foot   into    the 
straight    part     and    have 
them   lay  over    the   vent 
rods.     Sand  is    then  put 


RETURN,  ELBOW,  BRANCH,  AND  T-PIPE  CORE  ARBORS.       201 

on,  and  a  piece  of  a  box  about  two  feet  long,  an  end  view  of 
which  is  seen  at  Y,  is  placed  on  top  and  the  upper  portion 
of  the  core  is  rammed  up. 

The  small  sweep  T  is  used  to  shape  the  part  left  open, 
and  through  which  the  sand  is  shoveled  in  and  rammed. 
This  section,  or  upper  box,  is  then  drawn  and  replaced  until 
the  whole  top  part  is  rammed  up.  For  the  round  end  there 
is  a  short,  circular  box  used. 

The  top  half  could  be  formed  with  a  sweep,  but  ramming 
it  in  these  boxes  makes  a  more  solid  core. 

The  core,  when  dried,  is  set  into  the  mould  by  four 
screws,  screwed  into  the  core  arbors  at  2,  3,  4,  and  5. 

The  principle  involved  in  the  construction  of  this  core 
arbor  can  be  adapted  to  many  other  purposes  besides  making 
pipe. 

The  upper  cut,  showing  wings  cast  on  a  core  arbor,  repre- 
sents two  ways  of  making  cast-iron  core  arbors  for  a  large 
number  of  T,  branch,  or  elbow  pipes,  using  the  same  core 
arbors. 

As  a  rule,  such  castings  are  made  with  dry  sand  cores, 
and  if  a  cast-iron  core  rod  is  used,  it  has  to  be  broken  in 
pieces  to  get  it  out  of  the  crooked  casting. 

With  an  arbor,  as  shown,  the  cores  can  be  made  of  green 
sand,  and  the  arbor  taken  out  of  the  castings  without  break- 
ing it. 

The  cut  shows  the  arbor  for  moulding  a  T-pipe.  The  sec- 
tion through  A  B  shows  the  branch  part  connected  with  the 
main  or  longest  section  of  the  arbor.  K  shows  a  wrought- 
iron  square  bar,  one  end  of  which  is  wedge-shaped.  Under- 
neath this  wedge  bar  is  a  flat  wrought-iron  bar,  one  end  of 
which  is  bent  and  cast  into  the  arbor,  as  shown  by  the  dotted 
lines.  In  this  bar  a  countersunk  hole  is  punched  hot,  as 
a  hole  drilled  out  would  have  a  tendency  to  weaken  it. 
Through  this  hole  a  bolt  or  rivet  is  placed  and  cast  into  the 
9* 


202  CORE   MOULDING. 

arbor,  as  shown  at  S.  When  taking  the  arbor  out  of  the 
casting,  the  wedge  bar  is  knocked  in,  when  the  arbor  will 
drop  out. 

The  cut  showing  a  dovetail  is  a  plan  generally  used  to 
hold  sections  together.  A  hardwood  wedge  is  driven  into  the 
opening  £7,  and  when  the  pipe  is  cast  the  heat  will  loosen 
the  wedge  and  free  the  arbor.  If  either  of  these  plans  are 
not  thought  to  be  firm  enough  for  very  heavy  cores,  the 
dovetail  and  bar  wedge  could  be  combined  so  as  to  make  a 
very  stiff  joint.  Lengthways  the  dovetail  should  be  quite 
tapering,  so  that  when  the  pipe  is  rolled  over,  the  wings  on 
the  arbor  will  allow  it  to  drop  sufficient  to  permit  the  dove- 
tails to  be  pulled  apart. 

The  cut  and  description  of  the  complete  arbor  is  not 
taken  from  any  arbor,  so  far  as  known,  in  use;  but  the  plan 
is  one  that  I  think  would  work  well  and  be  an  improvement 
on  the  old  dovetail  arbor,  which  sometimes  causes  trouble 
by  getting  loose. 

In  order  to  make  this  class  of  work  fast,  it  is  as  necessary 
to  have  good  flasks  fitted  up  specially  for  the  work  as  it  is  to 
have  good  core  arbors.  The  flasks  are  better  if  made  en- 
•tirely  of  iron,  as  they  can  be  cast  to  suit  the  shape  of  the 
casting  wanted,  thereby  saving  much  of  the  shoveling  and 
ramming  of  sand. 

If  the  flasks  are  made  of  wood,  the  ends  should  be  iron 
having  half-circle  holes,  so  that  the  round  flanges  at  the 
ends  of  the  core  arbor  will  fill  them,  making  a  bearing  of 
iron  on  iron  to  hold  the  core  up  and  down  at  each  end. 
The  flanges  of  the  arbors  should  be  no  larger  than  the 
wings  which  hold  the  sand,  for  if  larger,  the  arbor  could  not 
be  got  out  of  the  casting. 

The  ends  of  the  core  box  should  be  made  the  same  size  as 
the  flanges  of  the  core  arbor,  then  when  the  arbor  is  set  in 
the  box  to  make  the  core,  these  flanges  will  have  a  bearing  on 


RETURN,  ELBOW,  BRANCH,  AND   T-PIPE   CORE  ARBORS.  203 

the  ends,  thus  centering  the  arbor,  and  when  the  core  is  set  in 
the  mould  the  thickness  will  be  equal  all  around.  A  half -core 
box  is  generally  used  for  making  the  bottom  in  green  sand, 
and  the  top  portion  is  swept  up  ;  or  a  half -core  box  is  set  on 
the  top,  having  the  upper  portion  cut  out  so  as  to  ram  the 
sand  through,  as  shown  at  Y.  Lighter  pipes,  as  a  general 
thing,  are  made  when  green  sand  cores  are  used,  than  when 
dry  sand  cores  are  made  in  halves  and  pasted  together.  Of  a 
lot  of  pipes  made  with  dry  pasted  cores,  the  number  that  will 
have  true  round  holes  in  them  will  be  very  small  while;  a  lot 
made  with  green  sand  cores,  made  with  a  top  and  bottom 
box  as  described,  will  be  found  to  have  holes  of  the  same 
diameter,  and  round. 


204  LOAM   MOULDING. 


MAKING  HAY  ROPE  LOAM  CORES. 

HAY,  or  straw,  is  wound  around  a  core  barrel  for  the  pur- 
pose of  yenting  the  core,  and  allowing  the  barrel  to  be  re- 
moved. When  iron  is  poured  around  a  hay  rope  core,  it 
burns  or  chars  the  rope  before  the  casting  gets  cold,  thereby 
releasing  the  barrel  so  that  it  may  be  drawn  out.  With  very 
large  castings  it  is  necessary  to  hoist  the  barrel  out  as  soon 
as  the  iron  is  cool  enough,  for  if  left  in  till  the  casting  is 
entirely  cold  the  contraction  of  the  casting  will  make  it  a 
hard  job  to  get  the  barrel  out.  The  rope  also  assists  in 
holding  the  loam  from  dropping  off  the  barrel. 

In  starting  to  put  on  the  rope,  tie  the  end  with  wire 
passed  through  two  of  the  vent  holes,  and  when  the  barrel 
is  being  revolved  the  moulder  should  keep  the  rope  as  tight 
as  it  will  stand  without  breaking,  so  as  to  take  all  the  stretch 
out  of  it.  If  the  rope  is  put  on  slack>  it  will  be  impossible 
to  sweep  up  a  true,  solid  core. 

When  a  core  is  large  in  diameter,  it  is  best  to  have  the 
rope  pounded  with  a  wooden  maul  as  it  is  wound  on  the 
barrel.  This  will  help  to  take  all  the  stretch  out  of  it. 
Should  the  rope  break  at  any  time  while  putting  it  on,  take 
the  end  and  let  the  barrel  be  turned  back  a  little,  thin  out 
the  broken  ends  for  about  a  foot,  twist  them  around  each 
other  and  pound  the  splice  so  that  it  will  not  be  any  larger 
than  the  rest  of  the  rope. 

To  fasten  or  secure  the  end  of  the  rope  when  the  barrel 
is  covered,  drive  some  nails  through  it  and  into  the  strands 
next  to  it.  In  putting  the  rope  on  the  barrel,  the  barrel 


MAKING   HAY   ROPE   LOAM   CORES.  205 

should  be  turned  in  the  same  direction  it  is  to  be  turned 
when  the  loam  is  swept  on. 

When  there  is  an  offset  or  shoulder  to  be  made  on  a  core, 
or  should  the  barrel  be  so  small  that  one  thickness  of  rope 
will  leave  too  much  loam,  there  can  be  another  thickness  of 
rope  put  on  over  the  first.  When  doing  this  it  is  best  to 
rub  on  some  loam  over  the  first  layer  of  rope,  so  as  to  make 
a  solid  bed  for  the  second  layer.  The  first  coat  of  loam  that 
is  rubbed  on  the  rope  should  be  very  clayey  and  tough,  and 
made  so  that  it  will  work  in  between  the  joints  and  stick  to 
the  rope.  If  this  first  coat  is  not  made  to  fill  up  all  the 
joints  and  holes,  the  result  will  be  a  swollen  or  uneven 
casting. 

It  is  also  necessary  to  take  a  brick  or  block  of  wood  and 
press  it  hard  against  the  loam  while  the  barrel  is  being 
turned,  and  if  not  sure  that  all  the  cavities  are  filled,  it  is 
a  good  plan  to  take  a  J  inch  or  J  inch  round  iron  rod  and 
press  it  between  the  joints  while  the  barrel  is  being  re- 
volved, and  then  fill  up  the  crevices  with  loam.  After  this, 
take  the  brick  or  block  to  lay  all  the  loose  hay  flat,  and  make 
a  solid  surface  for  the  second  coat  of  loam,  which  should  be 
put  on  so  as  to  leave  about  |  inch  for  the  finishing  coat. 
The  second  coat  should  be  used  as  stiff  as  it  can  be  worked, 
to  prevent  bagging. 

It  is  sometimes  best  to  use  the  sweep  in  putting  on  this 
second  coat,  so  as  to  make  an  even  surface  for  the  finishing 
coat.  As  a  general  thing,  the  finishing  coat  cannot  be  put 
on  until  after  the  barrel  has  been  run  into  the  oven  and 
dried. 

When  dry  and  hot  take  it  out  of  the  oven,  set  it  on  the 
horses,  as  shown,  and  rough  up  the  core  with  a  brick  so  as 
to  break  the  skin,  to  take  the  smoke  black  off.  Take  a 
brush  and  wet  the  surface  slightly  just  before  putting  on 
the  finishing  coat.  This  coat  should  be  put  through  a  No. 


206 


LOAM  MOULDING. 


8  sieve,  mixed  thoroughly,  and  enough  put  on  the  board  or 
sweep  to  complete  the  core.  When  all  is  ready,  take  both 
hands  and  rub  on  the  loam  while  the  helper  is  turning  the 

barrel.  The  barrel  should  never 
be  turned  fast.  When  turned 
once  around,  make  the  balance 
of  the  loam  thinner  and  go 
around  again.  As  the  circle  is 
completed,  pull  back  the  board 
endwise  while  the  barrel  is  yet 
in  motion.  By  doing  this  no 
mark  will  be  left  on  the  core. 

If  you  can  finish  the  core  in 
two  revolutions,  it  will  be 
smoother  than  if  it  takes  four  or 
five  revolutions  to  do  it.  If 
there  should  be  any  rough  places 
on  the  surface,  instead  of  using 
a  trowel,  use  a  smooth,  hard- 
wood block  to  smooth  them  with, 
dampening  them  with  water  and 
loam,  and  rubbing  with  the  block 
till  smooth  and  level. 

If  the  core  is  large  in  diameter, 
it  is  best  to  keep  the  barrel  turn- 
ing slowly  until  the  loam  is  set 
enough  so  it  will  not  sag.  If 
the  barrel  is  stopped  when  the 
board  is  taken  away,  the  core  is 
apt  to  be  out  of  round.  In  turn- 
ing the  barrel,  never  turn  up 
against  the  sharp  edge  of  the 

sweep,  but  towards  the  beveled  portion,  as  shown.     The 
thicker  the  casting,  the  more  body  or  thickness  of  loam 


MAKIXG   HAY  ROPE   LOAM   CORES.  207 

there  should  be  over  the  ropes,  especially  if  the  iron  is 
poured  hot.  When  there  is  not  enough  loam  over  the  ropes, 
the  hot  iron  heats  through  the  loam  and  burns  the  rope 
while  the  iron  is  yet  liquid,  and  the  iron  will  strain  into  the 
soft  open  places,  and  the  casting  will  have  lumps  on  it. 

To  make  a  casting  one  inch  thick,  the  core  barrel  should 
be  about  three  inches  smaller  than  the  finished  size  of  the 
core.  This  will  allow  1^  inches  on  each  side  of  the  barrel 
for  rope  and  loam.  The  size  of  rope  should  be  about  J  of 
an  inch,  which  would  leave  f  of  an  inch  for  loam,  f  of  an 
inch  of  which  should  be  left  for  the  finishing  coat.  For 
castings  about  2  inches  thick,  1  inch  thickness  of  loam 
will  be  safe. 

During  the  war  a  firm  in  this  country  cast  heavy  cannons 
by  coring  them  out,  to  save  some  of  the  boring  and  make  a 
stronger  cannon.  The  cores  were  swept  up  on  a  barrel,  and, 
instead  of  using  hay  rope,  they  used  ropes  made  of  hemp. 
There  were  coils  of  small  water-pipes  in  the  core  barrel,  and 
cold  water  was  kept  running  in  them  to  keep  the  core  barrel 
cool. 

To  make  an  even,  strong  hay  or  straw  rope  requires  some 
practice,  and  the  longest  hay  should  be  selected  to  make  it 
hold  together. 

The  cut  D  shows  a  simple  rope  twister.  Some  use  rope 
twisters  made  on  the  plan  of  a  carpenter's  bit-stock,  which 
makes  a  handy  tool,  and  B  shows  the  barrel  mounted  on 
horses,  with  the  screws  for  gauging  the  diameter  of  the 
core.  H  is  an  end  view  of  the  same.  All  core  barrels  should 
be  well  supplied  with  vent  holes.  Under  8-inch  diameter 
they  can  be  made  of  wrought-iron  tubing.  For  small  cores 
the  hay  can  be  put  on  the  barrels  without  making  it  into 
ropes,  as  only  a  thin  laying  of  hay  is  required.  The  same 
mixtures  of  loam  that  is  used  for  brick  loam  work  will  gen- 
erally do  for  this  class  of  cores. 


208  LOAM   MOULDING. 


BLACKING  AND   SLEEKING  LOAM  AND 
DRY  SAND  MOULDS. 

THE  poor  quality  of  the  blacking  is  generally  the  excuse 
made  by  many  moulders  for  scabbing  and  for  poorly  peeled 
castings.  Sometimes  such  excuses  are  just,  but  in  a  great 
many  cases  the  moulder  who  uses  the  blacking  is  the  only 
one  that  is  to  blame.  There  are  very  few  moulders  that 
know  how  to  mix  blacking  correctly,  and  sleek  or  finish 
a  mould  properly.  At  the  present  time  the  peeling  of  cast- 
ings does  not  depend  so  much  on  the  mixing  of  the  blacking 
as  it  did  fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago.  In  those  days,  when 
we  bought  blacking,  we  generally  received  it  unmixed  with 
resin,  soap-stone,  clay,  black-leads,  and  minerals,  etc.  It 
was  sold  as  ground,  and  free  from  the  hard  coal,  coke, 
black-lead,  soap-stone,  or  charcoal.  When  we  ordered  heavy 
blacking,  we  received  a  barrel  of  pure  ground  Lehigh  ;  to 
this  most  every  moulder  had  his  own  secret  percentage  of 
black-lead  and  charcoal,  that  he  would  mix  with  the  Lehigh, 
when  mixing  his  blacking  in  some  unobserved  place.  At  pres- 
ent we  have  only  to  go  to  the  prepared  barrel  of  blacking,  and, 
as  we  do  not  know  how  much  lead,  charcoal,  or  anything 
else  there  may  be  in  it,  we  take  it  from  the  barrel  just 
as  it  is,  and  mix  it.  In  those  days  an  experienced  loam 
moulder  could  tell  at  sight  of  a  newly  opened  barrel  of 
blacking  whether  it  was  good  or  not ;  but  now  blackings 
are  so  mixed  it  is  a  hard  matter  to  tell  what  it  is  until  we 
try  it.  There  is  a  way  we  can  get  some  idea  of  the  merits 
of  blacking  before  that  we  put  it  upon  our  moulds.  When 


BLACKING   AND   SLEEKING   MOULDS.  209 

mixing  up  blacking,  before  it  is  thin  enough  to  use,  take  a 
small  ball  of  it,  and  dry  it  in  the  oven,  and  when  dry  see 
if  it  can  be  rubbed  so  as  to  make  a  dust  easily;  or,  when  the 
blacking  is  mixed  up  in  good  order,  take  a  small  core  and 
black  it  over  with  it ;  when  this  core  is  'dry,  try  to  rub  off 
the  blacking  with  the  hand,  and  then  if  it  does  not  rub  off 
easily,  and  seems  to  have  a  firmness  about  it,  the  blacking  is 
generally  satisfactory  as  far  as  the  manufacture  is  concerned. 
There  is  such  a  thing  as  having  the  blacking  mixed  too 
strong,  so  as  to  make  a  poor  mixture  of  blacking  appear 
firm  and  solid  when  upon  the  mould  ;  but  when  the  casting 
comes  out,  it  is  blackened,  scabbed,  or  the  casting  does  not 
peel  well.  Ingredients  can  be  used  to  wet  and  mix  a  black- 
ing having  nobody  in  it,  and  yet  it  will  appear  very  firm  and 
strong  when  on  the  mould  ;  but  a  trial  test  of  blacking 
should  be  made  by  mixing  it  with  a  mixture  of  weak  mo- 
lasses or  clay,  water  or  beer,  in  order  to  decide  upon  its 
merits  before  using  it.  When  a  blacking  can  be  brushed 
or  rubbed  off  from  the  surface  of  moulds  no  one  need 
expect  to  see  the  casting  peel  very  well.  When  a  blacking 
is  so  hard  that  we  cannot  scratch  its  surface  so  as  to  raise 
any  dust,  it  is  then  mixed  too  strong,  and  it  is  very  apt 
to  scab  or  boil  off  when  the  iron  comes  in  contact  with 
it.  Strong  blacking  is  a  good  deal  like  the  surface  of  a 
green  sand  mould  that  is  made  too  hard,  and  it  will  cause 
trouble. 

Many  moulders  think  that  the  thicker  a  casting  is  the 
more  blacking  should  be  put  on  it.  When  Ty  of  thickness 
will  not  peel  a  heavy  solid  casting,  it  is  generally  safe  to 
conclude  the  blacking  has  not  been  made  and  mixed  proper- 
ly ;  if  Ty  thickness  of  blacking  will  not  peel  a  casting,  the 
thickness  of  i"  will  not  do  it.  When  blacking  is  put  on 
thicker  than  Ty,  it  causes  the  surface  of  a  mould  or  black- 
ing to  generally  flake  off  in  spots,  and  the  iron  when  it 


210  LOAM   MOULDING. 

comes  in  contact  with  the  blacking  causes  a  gas  ;  the 
blacking  being  so  thick  the  gas  cannot  escape  through  t^ 
the  loam  or  dry  sand  surface,  and  as  it  must  free  itself  in 
some  way,  it  will  start  and  push  out  the  face  coat  of  blacl  - 
ing,  and  pass  up  through  the  iron. 

When  a  casting  commences  to  be  less  than  one  inch  in 
thickness,  then  the  blacking  should  be  thinner  upon  the 
surface  of  the  mould,  especially  towards  the  upper  end. 

When  the  casting  is  run  altogether  from  the  bottom  of 
the  mould,  too  much  blacking  on  a  mould  for  a  thin  cast- 
ing acts  as  too  strong  a  green  sand  facing  on  a  thin  casting ; 
it  will  make  the  casting  all  cold  shut.  To  properly  put 
the  blacking  upon  a  mould  in  order  to  make  a  smooth- 
skinned  casting  is  very  important.  The  thickness  of  black- 
ing should  depend  upon  the  condition  of  the  surface  of 
the  mould.  Eammed  up  dry  sand  moulds  arc  generally 
about  the  same  dampness  when  they  are  finished,  but  with 
loam  moulds  it  is  different; we  sometimes  do  not  get  the 
blacking  on  the  surface  until  it  has  become  very  hard  or 
dry.  When  the  surface  of  a  mould  is  dry  or  hard,  the  first 
coat  of  blacking  should  be  a  thin  one,  the  drier  the  sur- 
face the  thinner  the  first  coat  of  blacking  should  be, 
in  order  to  have  it  soak  in  and  adhere  firmly  to  the  sur- 
face. In  putting  on  this  first  coat  the  brush  should  be 
rubbed  up  and  down,  and  from  one  side  to  the  other,  as 
oftentimes  only  once  passing  the  brush  over  the  surface 
will  not  make  the  blacking  surely  work  into  the  hard  loam 
surface  :  the  thickness  of  a  second  coat  of  blacking  should 
depend  upon  how  stiff  or  dry  the  first  coat  has  become  :  if 
it  is  hard  or  dry,  then  the  second  coat  should  not  be  much 
thicker  then  the  first  was,  and,  of  course,  the  thinner  the 
coats  of  blacking  are,  the  more  coats  must  be  put  on  when 
loam  mould  surfaces  are  dry  and  hard.  It  is  best  to  black 
and  finish  one  piece  or  section  at  a  time,  and  after  the  first 


BLACKING  AND  SLEEKING   MOULDS.  211 

coat  of  blacking  is  on,  the  following  coats  should  be  put 
on  before  the  under  one  has  gotten  too  hard  and  dry. 

We  are  yery  often  forced  to  black  loam  moulds  or  swept 
up  rolls  while  the  loam  or  surface  of  the  mould  has  hardly 
become  stiff  or  dry  enough  to  absorb  the  blacking.  In 
blacking  such  green  moulds  we  cannot  use  the  blacking  as 
thin  as  when  blacking  a  hard  surface,  but  it  must  be  used 
thicker,  in  order  to  get  body  enough,  and  in  such  cases, 
when  there  are  two  coats  required,  we  must  be  careful,  lest 
in  putting  on  the  second  coat  we  will  take  off  nearly  as 
much  as  we  put  on,  in  which  case,  when  the  casting  comes 
out,  we  will  wonder  why  it  is  that  the  coating  does  not  peel 
better.  It  is  always  best  to  black  a  mould,  if  circumstances 
will  allow,  when  the  mould  is  just  damp  enough  to  soak  up 
the  blacking,  so  as  to  be  sleekable  about  five  minutes  after  it 
is  put  on,  and  also  to  have  the  blacking  stay  damp  long  enough 
to  sleek  the  mould  in  good  style,  without  having  to  bear  on 
too  hard  with  your  sleeking  tools  to  do  it,  since  bearing 
hard  upon  tools  when  sleeking  a  mould  is  very  injurious ; 
for  it  not  only  compresses  and  closes  up  the  pores  of  the 
blacking,  but  it  also  has  a  tendency  to  start  it  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  mould,  the  effect  of  which  is  not  seen  until  the 
casting  comes  out,  having  some  scabs  upon  it. 

The  less  sleeking  done  in  order  to  finish  a  mould  the  bet- 
ter. It  is  a  good  plan  to  lightly  sleek  once  over  the  mould 
while  the  blacking  is  soft  and  damp.  This  will  smooth 
down  and  fill  up  the  hollows,  and  then  to  come  back  to  your 
starting-point,  by  which  time  the  blacking  may  be  stiff 
enough  to  allow  the  finishing  of  the  mould  in  good  shape. 
Sometimes,  when  the  blacking  is  very  soft,  the  mould  may 
have  to  be  sleeked  over  three  times  before  it  has  a  good 
finish.  A  well-finished  mould  is  one  on  which  no  trowel  or 
any  tool  marks  are  seen,  and  also  having  all  the  parts 
sleeked  smooth  and  the  shape  the  pattern  demands.  If  a 


212  LOAM  MOULDING. 

square  corner  is  required,  see  that  it  is  made  square,  and 
not  all  filled  up  with  lumps  of  blacking ;  or  if  a  deep  flange 
is  needed,  see  that  there  are  no  streaks  of  blacking  running 
down  its  sides,  so  as  to  make  the  casting  look  as  if  a  lot  of 
worms  had  been  traveling  over  its  surface,  eating  grooves 
in  it  as  they  went.  Sometimes,  when  it  is  not  easy  to  get  at 
some  crooked  parts,  in  order  to  sleek  them,  many  use  a  fine 
camel's-hair  brush  and  some  thin  blacking  for  going  over 
the  surface.  In  fact,  many  moulders  make  a  practice  of 
doing  this  over  all  sleeked  moulds,  and  it  is  a  good  way  to 
do,  when  you  want  to  quickly  finish  a  mould,  or  hide  any 
rough  finish  or  tool  marks.  There  is  one  redeeming  quality 
about  thus  going  over  the  surface  of  a  mould.  It  will  help 
to  fasten  down  any  spots  or  places  that  may  have  started 
from  improper  sleeking. 

A  mould  when  in  process  of  blacking  should  have  the 
blacking  brushed  or  put  on  with  a  swab  as  smooth  and  even 
as  possible,  and  not  have  it  daubed  on  in  any  style,  knocking 
off  the  edges  and  corners,  and  lifting  up  the  surface  sand. 
A  mould  blackened  in  this  way  is  sickening  to  look  upon. 
Time  taken  in  order  to  blacken  properly  will  be  more  than 
fully  saved  in  the  finishing — also  will  prepare  a  mould  so  as 
to  be  finished  in  good  style,  which  it  is  impossible  to  do 
with  a  mould  roughly  blackened;  and  the  attempt  would 
only  take  twice  as  long  as  if  the  mould  had  been  blackened 
smoothly  and  even. 

In  using  a  trowel  or  any  tools  to  sleek  or  finish  a  black- 
ened mould,  the  whole  flat  surface  of  them  should  never  be 
used  as  a  moulder  does  when  sleeking  a  green  sand  mould. 
When  too  much  surface  is  allowed  to  press  or  to  be  moved 
upon  the  surface  of  blacking,  it  will  generally  stick  to  the 
tools.  To  properly  sleek  blacking,  the  movements  must  be 
lively,  and  as  little  of  the  surface  of  the  tools  as  possible  be 
used  ;  and  also  never  sleek  twice  where  once  should  do. 


BLACKING  AND   SLEEKING   MOULDS.  213 

A  dry  sand  mould  is  worse  to  finish,  so  far  as  the  sticking 
of  the  blacking  to  the  tools  is  concerned,  than  a  loam  mould. 
Sometimes,  when  finishing  either  of  them,  if  the  blacking 
has  become  dry,  it  will  be  started  in  an  inexplicable  manner, 
and  cause  the  casting  to  be  scabbed.  The  trowel  should  be 
slightly  elevated  or  tipped  up,  so  as  to  have  only  a  small 
surface  of  the  lowest  portion  touching,  and  if  the  blacking 
has  become  too  hard  for  easily  finishing,  it  is  a  good  plan  to 
dip  the  tools  into  water.  This  will  help  the  blacking  to 
sleek  easier,  and  prevent  its  being  started.  When  the  black- 
ing is  soft,  rub  the  tools  with  a  good  oily  rag,  which  assists 
in  cases  where  there  is  danger  of  the  blacking  sticking  when 
being  sleeked.  Often  in  sleeking  there  are  air  bubbles 
formed  under  the  skin  of  soft  blacking,  caused  by  too  much 
sleeking,  and  which  must  be  disposed  of  before  a  mould  can 
be  well  finished.  To  do  this,  the  air  bubbles  should  be 
pricked  with  a  pin  or  sharp  vent  wire. 

An  article  that  has  been  lately  introduced,  called  plum- 
bago, silver  lead,  or  sometimes  flake  lead,  is  growing  into  great 
favor  with  moulders,  as  it  is  a  great  help  not  only  in  peel- 
ing the  casting,  but  also  permits  faster  and  better  finishing 
the  mould.  This  lead,  when  of  the  right  kind,  is  dusted  by 
the  hand  over  the  surface  of  the  blacking,  and  to  give  some 
idea  to  moulders  of  its  merits  that  have  never  used  any,  it 
will  be  sufficient  to  say,  that  after  it  has  been  dusted  on  over 
the  wet  blacking,  the  flat  of  the  hand  can  be  rubbed  over  the 
wet  or  damp  blacking,  and  there  will  not  any  stick  to  it.  In 
using  tools,  they  slide  easily  over  the  surface  without  any 
danger  of  the  blacking  sticking  to  them,  and  the  sleeking 
of  a  mould  is  made  a  simple  affair  by  its  use.  Blackening  of 
moulds  dry  is  a  plan  that  is  often  practiced.  There  is  less 
danger  of  a  mould's  scabbing  when  blackened  dry  than  when 
green,  since  there  is  no  sleeking  done,  and  the  blacking 
can  be  used  thinner.  The  thinness  of  the  blacking  will 


214  LOAM   MOULDING. 

depend  upon  the  heat  of  the  mould  to  be  blackened.  The 
hotter  the  mould  is,  the  thinner  should  the  blacking  be. 
Moulds  should  never  be  blackened  when  they  are  so  hot  as 
to  make  the  blacking  blister.  It  generally  takes  from  one 
to  two  coats  more  to  blacken  a  mould  when  dry  than  when 
it  is  green,  because  the  coats  must  be  used  thinner.  To 
properly  blacken  moulds,  either  green  or  dry,  will  always 
require  a  mechanical  judgment,  and  whenever  there  is  any 
trouble  with  blacking  not  peeling  or  casting  as  it  should, 
let  us  investigate,  to  see  if  the  trouble  is  not  with  ourselves, 
before  we  commence  to  blame  the  blacking  manufacturer. 


IRON"   CASINGS   FOR   MOULDING   POTS   IN   LOAM.        215 


IRON    CASINGS    FOR    MOULDING    POTS    IN 

LOAM. 

THE  use  of  the  flask  or  iron  casing,  as  shown  in  the  sketch, 
will  be  something  new  to  many  loam  moulders.  By  this 
plan,  instead  of  rubbing  the  loam  on  to  bricks,  it  is  rubbed 
on  to  iron.  The  pots  made  in  these  casings  are  used  in  a 
wire  factory  for  heating  wire. 

In  the  morning,  when  the  casings  are  hoisted  out  and 
when  they  are  hot,  the  first  coat  of  loam  is  rubbed  on  to 
them,  and  is  about  f"  in  thickness.  If  the  casings  are  not 
hot  enough  to  dry  the  loam,  they  are  run  into  the  oven,  and 
when  dry  and  hot,  are  pulled  out  and  lowered  down  on  the 
shallow  bottom  and  clamped. 

There  can  be  a  thin  sheet-iron  ring  placed  between  the 
joints,  to  project  out  to  the  face  of  the  sweep  to  support 
the  loam,  and  make  a  level  joint. 

After  the  center  spindle  is  set  into  its  bearing  at  the  bot- 
tom, and  secured  at  the  top  by  the  arm,  as  shown,  the  loam 
is  rubbed  on,  the  sweep  passed  around,  and  when  this  coat 
is  stiff  enough  the  finishing  coat  is  put  on  and  swept  off 
smoothly. 

The  cut  shows  a  sweep  only  half  the  length  of  the  flask, 
that  is,  coming  up  to  where  the  flask  is  jointed  in  the  mid- 
dle. They  are  made  so,  in  order  to  make  pots  small  in 
diameter,  that  would  not  admit  of  a  man  standing  up  in 
them  to  sweep  them  up.  The  lower  section  is  swept  up 
and  finished,  the  top  section  put  on,  a  second  sweep  is 
screwed  on  above  the  lower  one,  and  the  top  section  swept 
up. 


216  LOAM  MOULDING. 

Were  the  pots  large  enough  to  admit  of  a  man  working 
inside  them,  the  casing  could  be  made  without  any  joint  at 
the  middle,  and  the  sweep  made  the  whole  length. 

The  thickness  of  loam  used  on  the  surface  of  casings 
is  1"  at  the  bottom,  tapering  up  to  j"  at  the  top.  This 
taper  is  to  allow  the  casting  to  be  hoisted  out  easily.  The 
small  sweep  at  the  bottom  is  for  making  the  bottom  of  the 
pot.  This  is  not  swept  up  until  the  rest  is  formed  and 
hoisted  off ;  then  the  top  arm  is  fastened  on  at  the  lower 
bearing.  These  bearings  are  turned  on  a  square  shaft, 
which  is  better  for  fastening  the  sweeps  to  than  a  round 
one.  The  bottom  is  rammed  up  with  dry  sand.  In  closing 
the  two  parts  together  when  dry,  the  joint  must  be  secured 
so  as  not  to  leave  a  fin,  which  would  prevent  the  casting 
from  being  hoisted  off  the  casing.  To  insure  this,  it  is 
necessary  to  go  down  into  the  mould  and  daub  up  the  open- 
ing with  blacking.  To  moulders  that  have  never  used  cas- 
ing for  loam  work,  this  plan  would  seem  dangerous ;  but 
having  worked  with  this  rigging  myself,  and  knowing  that 
splendid  castings  can  be  made  in  a  very  short  time  by  its 
use,  I  would  recommend  casings  for  castings  of  a  similar 
character  when  there  is  a  large  number  to  make.  For  a 
few  pieces  it  would  not  pay,  as  the  rigging  is  expensive  to 
make. 

The  main  point  in  making  such  a  rigging  is  to  have 
plenty  of  vent  holes  in  the  flask  or  casing.  The  holes 
should  not  be  over  f ",  as  the  pressure  of  the  metal  would 
be  apt  to  burst  through  them  if  larger.  It  is  better  to 
have  the  holes  the  largest  on  the  inside.  The  first  coat 
of  loam  that  goes  on  should  be  as  open  in  texture  as  pos- 
sible. 

These  pots  could  be  swept  up  flat  ways,  as  well  as  in  the 
way  shown,  by  having  the  flask  split  in  halves  like  a  roll 
flask.  A  wooden  frame,  the  size  and  shape  of  the  cast- 


IRON   CASINGS   FOE  MOULDING   POTS   IN   LOAM.       217 


10 


218  LOAM   MOULDING. 

ing,  should  be  made  to  lay  on  the  joint  of  the  flask  when 
sweeping  up  the  mould,  to  make  the  edge  of  the  joint 
square  and  level. 

A  casting  smaller  than  the  one  for  which  the  casing  was 
intended  can  be  made  by  lining  up  the  casing  with  brick. 
A  flange  or  angle-iron,  such  as  is  used  for  a  cupola,  can  be 
put  on  for  holding  up  the  brick.  When  building  up  the 
bricks  put  cinders  between  the  joints  and  at  the  back  to 
carry  off  the  vent.  The  size  of  the  pots  made  in  these  cast- 
ings was  from  2  feet  6"  up  to  4  feet  in  diameter,  and  in  length 
about  7  feet.  The  thickness  of  the  castings  run  from  1"  up 
to  1J".  In  pouring  them,  the  iron  fell  from  the  top.  The 
flanges  of  the  castings  should  be  turned  up  in  the  lathe  ;  also 
the  broad  flange  on  the  core  barrel,  as  it  is  the  flange  bearing 
on  the  top  flange  of  the  casing  that  supports  and  holds  up 
the  core.  When  the  two  pins  (one  of  them  is  shown  at  X) 
are  in  their  holes,  you  can  rely  on  the  thickness  being  equal 
at  the  bottom. 

The  core  is  a  hay  rope  loam  core,  and  in  the  two  cuts  is 
shown  the  manner  of  turning  it  over  so  as  not  to  injure  it. 

The  small  cut  shows  the  core  barrel  as  it  is  hoisted  off  the 
oven  carriage.  It  has  to  be  dried  standing  on  end.  The 
blocks,  Nos.  1  and  2,  are  used  for  assisting  in  throwing  the 
core  over,  and  when  it  is  down  the  bar  is  put  under  the 
screw  and  the  hook  hitched  on  the  square  B,  which  is  also 
used  for  turning  the  core  barrel  when  making  the  core. 
The  bar  is  then  put  through  the  oye  of  the  screw  or  hook, 
the  crane  hitched  to  the  other  end,  and  the  barrel  hoisted 
up  on  its  end,  as  shown,  so  as  to  be  lowered  down  into  the 
pot.  The  little  plug  A  has  a  screw  cut  on  it  the  same  as 
the  hook,  and  when  the  hook  is  taken  out,  this  plug  is 
screwed  into  the  hole,  loamed  over,  and  blacked.  A  small 
fire  of  shavings  is  built  under  it  to  dry  it.  This  plug  has 
a  square  hole  in  it  for  screwing  it  in  and  out.  The  core 


IRON   CASINGS   FOE   MOULDING    POTS   IN   LOAM.        219 

barrel  is  cast  with  a  bottom  on,  full  of  prickers.  The  top 
flange  is  bolted  on  the  core  barrel,  as  shown  at  D.  In  this 
flange  there  is  a  dovetailed  groove  cast  at  the  point,  to 
which  the  iron  comes,  and  this  is  filled  with  loam,  so  that 
when  the  iron  comes  up  it  strikes  sand  instead  of  iron. 

In  fitting  up  the  core  barrel,  the  hook  and  screw  must  be 
central,  so  that  the  barrel  will  turn  true  on  them,  and  the 
broad  flange  at  exact  right  angles  with  the  center  bearings. 
The  core  barrel  should  have  plenty  of  vent  holes  in  it,  and 
be  made  3"  smaller  than  the  size  of  core,  to  allow  1J"  on 
each  side  for  the  hay  rope  and  loam. 


220  10AM  MOULDING. 


DRYING  MOULDS. 

A  WELL-DRIED  loam  or  dry  sand  mould  is  a  very  essential 
point  in  making  a  casting  that  shall  be  free  from  scabs. 
Some  irregularity  may  be  admissible  in  the  mixing  of  the 
loam  or  blacking,  but  the  mould  should  be  thoroughly  dried. 
When  the  water  in  a  damp  mould  is  heated,  it  is  converted 
into  steam ;  and  steam,  when  confined,  creates  pressure. 
Iron,  when  poured  into  a  mould,  heats  up  the  surface  and 
interior  portions,  and  this  heat  generates  steam  if  moisture 
is  present,  and  the  mould  is  very  rarely  strong  enough  or 
close  enough  to  hold  the  pressure,  which  increases  until  it 
forces  an  opening  through  which  it  can  escape.  This  may 
be  towards  the  surface  away  from  the  iron,  but  it  is  more 
likely  to  be  in  a  direction  towards  and  through  the  iron. 
The  outside  of  a  mould  is  generally  encased  by  an  iron  flask, 
or  held  by  a  curbing,  between  which  and  the  brick-work 
sand  is  rammed  hard  and  compact,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  through  a  few  vent  holes,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  steam 
to  escape  in  this  direction.  Towards  the  face  of  the  mould 
the  brick-work  is  open,  or,  if  it  is  a  dry  sand  mould,  the  sur- 
face is  generally  more  porous  than  the  backing,  so  that  the 
steam  will  generally  escape,  or  be  drawn  through  the  surface 
of  a  mould  before  it  will  find  its  way  through  the  outside. 
This  is  the  main  reason  why  a  damp  mould  will  cause  a 
casting  to  scab. 

It  may  be  asked,  Why  does  not  a  green  sand  mould  scab  ? 
The  sand  is  damp.  True,  the  sand  is  damp,  but  there  is  a 
certain  limit  to  this  dampness,  which,  if  overreached,  will 
cause  trouble. 


DRYING   MOULDS.  221 

The  surface  of  a  loam  or  dry  sand  mould  is  generally  hard 
and  close,  compared  to  that  of  a  green  sand  mould,  thereby 
permitting  the  steam  generated  at  the  surface  of  the  mould 
to  escape  through  the  sand  until  it  is  free  ;  but  should  the 
green  sand  be  rammed  too  hard, then  the  steam  cannot  force 
its  way  through,  and  it  will  come  up  through  the  surface  of 
the  mould  and  pass  up  through  the  liquid  iron,  thereby 
making  a  scabby  or  bad  casting.  A  green  sand  mould  that 
is  rammed  too  hard,  and  a  loam  or  dry  sand  mould  that  is 
not  dried,  have  very  much  the  same  effect  on  the  casting. 

Whether  a  loam  mould  is  dry  or  not  is  very  often  guessed 
at.  The  moulder  will  say  it  looks  dry,  and  that  as  it  has 
been  in  the  oven  a  long  time  it  must  be  dry.  It  is  not  the 
length  of  time  a  mould  has  been  in  the  oven,  nor  the  looks 
of  its  surface,  that  can  alway  be  depended  on  to  indicate  its 
quality  of  dryness.  A  mould  that  should  be  dried  in  two  or 
three  nights  is  often  only  half-dried,  as  the  oven  may  not 
work  well,  or  there  may  have  been  some  neglect  on  the  part 
of  the  watchman.  The  fire  may  have  been  very  hot  for  a 
short  time,  thereby  scorching  or  burning  the  surface  of  the 
mould,  while  the  interior  is  not  half  dry. 

There  is  a  great  deal  to  be  done  in  the  way  of  properly 
managing  a  fire  so  as  to  save  fuel  and  dry  a  mould  as  it 
should  be  dried.  The  first  fire  should  be  a  slow  and  easy 
one,  so  as  not  to  blister  or  crack  the  surface  of  the  mould, 
which  is  caused  by  the  efforts  of  the  steam — quickly  raised 
under  the  surface — to  escape.  This  steam  meeting  the 
resistance  of  the  half-dried  blacking,  which  is  very  much 
like  a  sheet  of  rubber,  stretches  and  blows  it  up  into  hills, 
but  has  not  sufficient  pressure  to  burst  through  and  escape. 
There  are  many  who  think  that  by  keeping  a  slow  fire  all 
the  time  to  dry  a  mould  or  cores  they  save  fuel.  In  some 
cases  this  may  be  so,  as  when  a  mould  has  little  body,  so 
that  one  night's  firing  will  dry  it ;  but  when  a  mould  has  a 


LOAM  MOULDING. 

large  body,  after  the  first  easy  firing,  in  my  opinion,  there 
will  be  more  fuel  saved  by  keeping  a  good  steady  fire  than 
by  keeping  a  slow  one.  A  slow  fire  will  drive  the  heat  in 
for  about  8  inches,  after  which  the  further  drying  will  be 
very  slow. 

With  some  moulds  or  cores  this  slow  firing  might  be  kept 
up  for  a  week,  and  yet  the  interior  not  be  dry.  Whereas  if 
the  fire  had  been  hotter  the  heat  would  have  been  forced 
into  the  interior  and  the  steam  and  dampness  expelled  with 
probably  two-thirds  less  fuel. 

I  have  seen  large  cores  put  into  an  oven  and  orders  given 
for  a  slow  fire  for  fear  of  burning  them,  and  after  there  had 
been  fuel  enough  used  to  dry  two  sets  of  such  cores,  the  boss 
would  get  disgusted  because  they  were  not  dry,  and  give 
orders  for  a  very  hot  fire,  at  the  same  time  looking  at  the 
cores  as  if  to  say,  "  We  will  see  who  is  to  be  boss."  When 
the  cores  came  out  of  the  oven  in  a  burnt  condition,  one 
could  imagine  them  as  saying,  "Well,  Mr.  Boss,  if  you  had 
used  better  judgment  we  would  all  have  been  well  dried  long 
ago,  and  not  burnt  cither." 

In  the  making  of  large  body  moulds  or  cores  there  should, 
if  possible,  be  openings  made  from  the  center  to  the  outside  to 
assist  the  steam  in  escaping  from  the  interior  ;  and  also, 
when  possible,  the  center  portion  should  be  filled  up  with 
coke  or  cinders  as  much  as  can  be  safely  done.  The  more 
coke  or  cinders  the  less  sand  and  firing  will  be  needed. 

Plenty  of  venting  in  moulds  or  cores  is  also  a  great  assist- 
ance in  drying. 

It  is  generally  easy  to  tell  when  a  dry  sand  mould  or  core 
is  dry,  but  with  loam  moulds  it  is  not  so  easy.  Very  few 
loam  moulds  are  made,  but  the  following  plan  could  be 
adopted  for  determining  if  they  are  dry.  Let  the  moulder, 
when  building  the  bottom  part  of  his  mould,  make  an  open- 
ing that  will  allow  the  inserting  of  a  wet  brick,  or  a  lump 


DRYING  MOULDS. 


223 


224  LOAM   MOULDING. 

of  wet  loam,  and  on  the  outside  of  this  let  the  opening  be 
closed  with  temporary  brick-work  and  mud.  When  he 
thinks  his  mould  is  dry,  he  can  pull  out  the  temporary  brick- 
work and  see  the  condition  of  the  inserted  brick  or  lump  of 
loam.  If  this  part  of  the  mould  has  been  placed  away  from 
the  fire,  and  this  brick  or  loam,  when  broken,  is  dry,  he  can 
generally  depend  on  the  mould  being  dry. 

The  cuts  shown  are  for  illustrating  some  of  the  ways  of 
drying  loam  moulds  that  are  too  large  to  be  dried  in  the 
ovens  or  too  heavy  for  the  crane  to  lift,  making  it  necessary 
that  they  be  dried  in  a  pit  or  on  the  shop  floor.  B  is  a  fire- 
basket,  sometimes  made  in  the  form  of  an  open  grate-frame 
work  all  around  the  sides,  as  shown  at  P,  and  sometimes  of 
boiler  iron,  drilled  full  of  holes,  as  shown.  For  bottom 
grate  bars  in  both  styles,  wrought-iron  rods  are  generally  used. 

The  baskets  are  made  round  or  square  in  form,  according 
to  the  shape  of  moulds  they  are  to  be  used  in.  The  width 
and  height  will  depend  upon  the  dimensions  of  the  mould. 
There  should  be  at  least  18"  of  space  between  the  surface  of 
the  mould  and  the  fire-basket,  to  present  burning  the  sur- 
face of  the  mould  before  it  gets  thoroughly  dried. 

Sometimes,  instead  of  using  one  large  basket,  three  or 
four  smaller  ones  are  used,  in  order  to  better  distribute  the 
heat. 

When  the  mould  has  a  bottom  in  it,  like  the  one  shown, 
the  baskets  are  generally  hung  by  having  the  hook  F  held 
up  by  a  crane  or  a  strong  bar.  When  a  mould  has  no  bot- 
tom in  it,  the  basket  can  be  let  down  "so  as  to  rest  on  bot- 
tom bearings.  For  moulds  of  this  class,  it  is  best,  when 
possible,  to  have  them  hoisted  up  so  as  to  have  the  bottom 
part  of  the  mould  about  on  a  level  with  the  top  of  the  fire- 
basket,  or  have  a  hole  dug  so  as  to  allow  the  baskets  to  get 
below  the  bottom,  the  better  to  dry  the  lower  part. 

When  the  inside  of  a  mould  is  too  small  to  admit  of  a 


DRYING   MOULDS.  225 

fire-basket  being  placed  in  it,  a  temporary  fire-place  is  made 
adjacent  to  the  bottom  of  the  mould,  and  the  heat  made  to 
pass  up  through  the  inside  of  the  mould,  by  having  the 
outer  opening  or  space  closed  up  with  brick- work  or  sand,  as 
shown  at  $.  The  fire-place  shown  at  H  can  be  made  in  the 
form  of  a  basket,  and  placed  directly  under  the  mould  or 
core.  This  basket  can  be  pulled  out  to  clean  and  renew  the 
fire.  Or  there  can  be  a  temporary  fire-place,  as  shown  at  W, 
built  up  outside  of  the  core  or  mould,  and  the  heat  con- 
ducted through  a  channel  to  get  to  the  inside  of  the  mould. 

To  confine  the  heat,  the  moulds  are  generally  covered 
over  with  sheet  or  boiler  iron  plates,  as  shown  at  Y,  Y.  D, 
is  a  stove-pipe,  to  carry  off  the  smoke  and  create  a  draft. 
E  is  a  sheet-iron  curbing  for  retaining  the  heat.  X  is  a 
brick  wall  for  the  same  purpose.  Either  the  wall  or  the 
curbing  will  answer  the  purpose. 

The  combined  fires  are  only  generally  needed  when  there 
is  over  an  8"  wall  to  be  dried,  in  which  case  a  fire  in  W,  so 
as  to  heat  up  the  outside  of  the  mould,  is  combined  with  a 
fire  on  the  inside  of  the  mould,  and  also  channels,  as  1,  2, 
3,  and  4,  connected  with  the  fire  W,  to  carry  the  heat  un- 
derneath the  bottom  plate,  which  should  have  plenty  of 
holes  in  it.  The  two  fires  thus  combined  will  thoroughly 
dry  a  mould.  These  channels  can  be  formed  by  using  brick, 
or  rough  gutters  can  be  made  in  the  sand,  either  of  which, 
if  desired,  can  be  filled  up  with  sand  after  the  mould  is 
dried.  The  heat  could  be  got  under  the  bottom  by  having 
the  plate  raised  on  iron  blocking,  as  shown  at  A,  A. 

It  is  always  the  bottom  portions  of  such  moulds  that  are 
the  hardest  to  dry,  especially  so  if  the  mould  is  built  up  in 
a  pit.  In  such  cases  it  is  a  good  plan  to  have,  when  possi- 
ble, a  large  hole  cast  in  the  bottom  plate,  so  that  when  the 
bottom  is  being  bricked  up  there  will  be  a  part  of  the  mould 
left  open. 

10* 


226  LOAM   MOULDING. 

Then  below  this  opening  in  the  mould  let  there  be  a  small 
pit  dug  with  a  channel.  T  is  a  pipe  laid  to  the  outside  of 
the  mould  to  admit  air  to  the  pit,  creating  a  draft.  Then, 
with  a  fire-basket  lowered  down  through  the  mould  into  the 
pit,  we  should  have  a  fire  below  the  bottom  of  the  mould  the 
same  as  shown  at  H.  After  the  mould  is  thoroughly  dried 
by  the  combination  of  fire-baskets  H  and  £,  the  pit  is  filled 
up  with  sand,  and  a  plate  having  built  upon  it  bricks  or  core 
sand,  and  previously  dried  and  still  hot,  is  lowered  down  to 
fill  up  the  opening,  as  shown  at  K.  Between  the  two  plates 
there  should  be  a  little  soft  loam  to  form  a  solid  bearing. 
The  open  space  M,  M,  is  then  filled  up  with  a  dry  mixture  of 
loam,  and  should  the  top  surface  not  be  even  with  the  original 
surface,  it  is  made  so  by  filing  off  or  building  on.  A  thin 
sheet-iron  plate,  having  on  it  a  charcoal  fire,  is  laid  over  so 
as  to  assist  in  drying  out  dampness. 

Sometimes  when  building  the  bottom  of  a  loam  mould  that 
is  very  thick,  it  is  best  to  partially  dry  the  bottom  brick- 
work before  the  upright  portions  of  the  mould  are  made ; 
which  can  be  done  by  having  the  plate  raised  up  and  a  wood 
fire  underneath  and  a  charcoal  fire  on  top.  After  this  the 
bottom  can  be  permanently  set  where  wanted. 

The  best  kind  of  fuel  to  use  in  the  fire-baskets  will  depend 
on  the  draft.  Charcoal  requires  the  least  air,  gas  coke  more, 
and  soft  and  hard  coal  and  coke  the  most. 

The  moulder  must  use  his  own  judgment  as  to  the  best 
plan  to  be  adopted  for  drying  any  particular  mould,  as  there 
are  hardly  two  moulds  that  the  same  drying  arrangements 
should  be  used  for  ;  but  it  is  hoped  that  from  some  of  the 
different  plans  given  there  can  be  found  one  that  can  be 
turned  to  answer  his  purpose. 


CHAPLETS   AND   THEIR   USE.  227 


CHAPLETS    AND    THEIR    USE. 

IN  making  castings  that  require  the  use  of  chaplets,  the 
moulder  is  frequently  annoyed  by  complaints  about  blow- 
holes. If  asked  what  caused  the  blow-holes,  he  would  be 
likely  to  say  that  the  chaplets  must  have  been  rusty,  of 
which  there  can  be  no  question.  To  know  what  this  rust 
is,  and  its  chemical  action  when  surrounded  with  hot  iron, 
should  be  of  as  much  interest  to  engineers  and  machinists 
as  it  is  to  the  moulder.  Any  one  employed  in  a  foundry 
knows — some  to  their  sorrow — that  to  take  a  rusty  rod  and 
quickly  push  it  into  a  ladle  of  melted  iron  will  cause  the  hot 
iron  to  fly  in  all  directions.  This  is  caused  more  from  the 
dampness  than  from  anything  else,  as  all  rusty  iron  is 
more  or  less  damp,  and  hence,  when  plunged  in  the  hot 
iron  steam  is  instantly  generated,  which  scatters  the  iron  in 
its  efforts  to  escape. 

To  demonstrate  this,  take  a  rusty  rod,  heat  it  enough  to 
dry  up  all  the  moisture,  and  then  put  it  into  a  ladle  of  iron. 
The  iron  will  boil  around  it  more  or  less,  but  will  not  fly 
over  the  foundry  as  it  would  if  the  rod  was  not  dry. 

There  are  two  things  to  be  contended  against  in  the  effort 
to  keep  melted  iron  from  blowing  or  boiling  when  enclosing 
rusty  iron.  The  first  is  steam,  and  the  second  is  carbonic 
oxide  gas.  This  gas  is  formed  by  carbon  in  the  hot  iron 
combining  with  oxygen. 

Take  a  piece  of  polished  iron,  and  let  it  get  damp  from 
the  moisture  of  the  air— or  otherwise  dampen  it— and  it 
soon  becomes  rusty,  because  of  the  affinity  of  iron  for  oxy- 


228  CHAPLETS. 

gen  when  combined  with  water.  Under  certain  conditions 
polished  iron  can  be  kept  from  collecting  rust  or  oxygen ;  as 
by  keeping  it  no  colder  than  the  temperature  of  the  air,  and 
keeping  the  air  dry.  Take  the  iron  from  a  cold  room  into  a 
warm  one,  and  it  will  not  be  long  before  rust  will  collect  on 
it.  This  is  caused  by  the  cold  iron  condensing  whatever 
moisture  there  may  be  in  the  air. 

To  determine  how  much  gas  is  formed  in  a  mould  when 
melted  iron  comes  in  contact  with  rusty  iron,  I  cut  off  a 
piece  of  J"  round  iron  one  foot  long,  and  had  it  weighed  on 
a  pair  of  fine  scales.  I  then  took  the  rod  and  heated  it  red 
hot,  so  as  to  burn  off  all  the  rust,  after  which  the  rod  was 
reweighed  and  found  to  weigh  sixty  grains  less. 

To  know  how  much  gas  this  sixty  grains  of  rust  or  oxide 
would  form,  I  submitted  the  matter  to  a  chemist,  Mr.  L.  H. 
Witte,  who  found  that  sixty  grains  of  rust  in  melted  iron 
would  make  thirty-one  grains  of  carbonic  oxide  gas,  which 
at  2,800  degrees  of  heat  (the  melting  point  of  iron),  and  a 
pressure  of  one  atmosphere,  would  occupy  about  six  hun- 
dred cubic  inches  of  space.  The  volume,  or  space,  which 
gas  occupies  depends  on  the  pressure.  If  a  moulder  sets 
rusty  chaplets,  the  damage  will  be  proportioned  to  the  tem- 
perature and  pressure  of  the  iron  around  them.  It  is  very 
seldom  that  chaplets  in  common  pipe  and  similar  castings 
should  have  blow-holes  around  them  on  the  side  cast  down. 
It  is  on  the  top  or  cope  part,  where  there  is  very  little  press- 
ure, that  the  blow-holes  are  found.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  cylinders  or  other  castings  where  chaplets  are  used. 

The  question  might  be  asked,  Why  is  it,  that  where  the 
greatest  pressure  is,  the  gas  escapes  the  easiest  and  without 
causing  blow-holes  ?  The  parts  of  a  mould  where  the  great- 
est pressure  is  are  usually  the  first  to  be  filled,  and  the  iron 
is  hotter  and  cleaner  than  at  the  top  of  the  mould.  Should 
the  chaplets  at  the  bottom  cause  the  iron  to  blow  or  boil, 


CHAPLETS   AND   THEIK   USE.  229 

the  gas  will  escape  upward  through  the  iron,  and  come  out 
of  the  mould  at  the  runners  or  feeders.  The  iron  being 
hot,  the  pressure  will  not  allow  any  holes  or  cavities  to 
exist ;  but  should  the  iron  boil  or  blow  around  chaplets  in 
the  upper  sections  of  a  mould,  it  will  generally  leave  blow- 
holes in  the  casting,  because  of  the  iron  being  dull,  or  hav- 
ing no  life  in  it,  so  that  the  gas  cannot  escape  through  it, 
but  stays  around  the  chaplets.  The  size  of  the  cavities 
will  depend  on  the  amount  of  gas  formed  that  cannot 
escape. 

Chaplets  are  very  often  kept  in  moulds  for  two  or  three 
days  before  the  mould  is  cast.  In  such  cases  they  are  very 
apt  to  corrode  or  get  rusty,  especially  if  the  mould  is  a 
green  sand  one. 

The  moulder  may  paiftt  or  varnish  the  chaplets,  to  pro- 
tect the  iron  from  getting  rusty,  but  the  paint  or  varnish 
will  sometimes  create  more  gas  than  the  rust  or  oxide 
would.  Again,  the  paint  may  be  of  such  a  nature  as  to  pro- 
tect the  iron  chaplet  from  rusting,  but  hold  moisture  itself, 
and  when  the  melted  iron  surrounds  the  wet  chaplet  it 
forms  a  cushion  of  steam  around  it,  and  the  blow-holes 
are  formed,  the  same  as  from  the  gas  caused  from  the 
rust. 

About  the  best  thing  to  prevent  chaplets  from  blowing, 
or  boiling  the  iron  around  them,  is  to  have  all  the  rust  burnt 
off  and  have  them  tinned  over,  which  can  be  done  to  advan- 
tage for  a  standard  class  of  work.  The  affinity  of  tin  for 
iron  makes  the  iron  hotter.  Pieces  of  tin  are  often  thrown 
into  ladles  of  iron  to  make  the  iron  more  fluid.  The  tin, 
beside  making  the  iron  around  the  chaplets  hotter,  so  as 
to  give  any  gas  that  may  be  formed  a  better  chance  to 
escape,  also  protects  them  from  collecting  moisture  and 
getting  rusty. 

For  castings  where  it  is  essential  that  the  upper  section 


230  CHAPLETS. 

shall  be  sound,  it  is  best  to  use  what  is  called  a  loam  chaplet. 
This  is  made  by  taking  solid  iron,  wrought  or  cast,  and 
daubing  the  surface  exposed  to  the  melted  iron  with  a  thin 
coat  of  loam.  This  will  leave  a  clean  hole  in  the  casting, 
which  the  machinist  will  have  to  tap  and  plug  up,  but  when 
the  casting  is  put  to  the  test,  there  will  be  no  danger  of  blow- 
holes around  the  chaplets.  In  using  such  chaplets  pieces  of 
iron  can  be  built  up  on  top  of  the  core  arbors  so  as  to  come 
even  with  the  face  of  the  core,  and  have  the  chaplets  rest  on 
iron  instead  of  on  sand.  By  this  method  fewer  chaplets  will 
be  required  to  hold  down  a  core.  The  fewer  the  chaplets 
used  the  better  and  stronger  the  casting. 

Red  lead  mixed  with  turpentine  is  one  of  the  best  paints 
for  chaplets.  Chalk,  coal  tar,  oil,  asphaltum,  etc.,  which  are 
often  used  on  chaplets,  are  not  so  reliable.  In  some  shops 
cast  and  wrought  chaplets  are  used  very  extensively.  The 
cast-iron  ones  are  the  best  to  use  on  castings  that  require  to 
be  finished,  as  the  melted  iron  adheres  to  them  better  than 
to  wrought-iron  ones.  In  some  cases  where  castings  are 
finished,  the  chaplets  cannot  be  seen. 

Cast-iron  chaplets  can  be  made  of  any  shape  or  size,  and 
used  in  castings  from  J-"  up  to  3"  thick,  but  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  set  them  where  the  gates  will  cause  the  iron  to 
run  against  them  as  they  melt  very  readily. 

The  cuts  Nos.  1,  3,  4,  5,  6,  and  7  show  a  class  of 
wrought  and  cast  iron  chaplets  that  are  very  handy  for  most 
classes  of  work.  No.  1  is  a  cast-iron  chaplet  that  can  be 
made  very  readily  from  f "  to  1"  diameter,  and  of  any  length 
required.  They  are  made  by  ramming  up  a  deep  flask  having 
a  level  joint,  and  after  the  cope  is  off,  bedding  in  the  heads 
and  driving  down  the  long  stem  any  length  wanted.  They 
should  be  notched  with  a  chisel  on  each  side  before  knocking 
them  off,  as  they  are  apt  to  break  below  the  surface  of  the 
casting  when  roughly  knocked  off. 


CHAPLETS. 


231 


t 


232  CHAPLETS. 

No.  5  is  a  double-headed  chaplet,  used  particularly  on 
loam  and  dry  sand  work.  A  pattern  will  be  required  for 
each  size  wanted. 

No.  7  shows  a  cast-iron  chaplet  and  stand  which  is  very 
handy  for  loam,  dry,  or  green  sand  moulds.  The  face  of  the 
stand  X  is  set  against  the  pattern  and  rammed  up,  or  built 
up  in  the  brick-work.  The  only  objection  to  using  this 
stand  is,  that  it  will  chill  the  casting,  for  which  reason  the 
stand  should  not  be  set  on  castings  that  require  to  be  hard 
iron.  These  stands  are  better  if  cast  solid,  and  the  holes  for 
holding  the  chaplet  drilled  out.  When  setting  the  chaplets, 
if  they  are  too  long,  break  off  a  piece,  and  if  too  short,  fill 
up  the  holes  with  sand.  Iron  flasks  for  special  jobs  often 
have  holes  drilled  in  the  bars  to  hold  chaplets,  whereby  much 
time  and  labor  is  saved. 

No.  3  is  a  wrought-iron  chaplet,  having  a  large  double 
head  riveted  to  the  stem.  This  is  safer  than  having  only  a 
single  head  riveted  on,  especially  for  large  cores  that  have  a 
heavy  lift  under  them. 

Some  blacksmiths  can  take  a  nut,  and  by  putting  a 
shoulder  on  the  round  stem,  weld  the  nut  on,  making  a  head 
on  a  chaplet  3  or  4  inches  broad,  which  is  safer  than  a  head 
riveted  on  over  a  small  shoulder. 

Chaplets  that  do  not  require  very  large  heads  can  be  made 
cheaply  in  a  machine  for  heading  bolts. 

No.  4  is  a  double-headed  wrought-iron  chaplet,  having  a 
sharp  stem,  to  be  used  on  loam  and  dry  sand  work.  The  top 
head  is  riveted  on,  and  the  lower  one  is  made  to  slide  up  on 
the  stem  to  a  shoulder,  which  is  filed  to  make  the  chaplet 
the  size  wanted. 

No.  6  is  a  spring  chaplet  made  from  hoop,  sheet,  or  plate 
iron,  bent  with  the  grain  of  the  iron.  This  is  very  handy 
for  placing  between  cores  where  it  would  be  hard  to  make  a 
stiff  chaplet  stay.  Sometimes  these  chaplets  have  their  ends 


CHAPLETS.  233 

bent  inwards  so  as  to  come  in  contact  with  each  other,  thereby 
making  a  stiff er  spring  chaplet. 

As  regards  the  size  of  iron  for  making  chaplets,  the 
moulder  must  use  his  own  judgment,  as  different  castings 
require  chaplets  of  various  sizes  and  strength.  Chaplets  are 
a  very  important  feature  in  the  manufacture  of  castings,  and 
are  always  an  eyesore  to  look  on,  as  they  disfigure  castings 
more  or  less,  A  good  moulder  will  use  as  few  of  them  as 
possible. 


234  LOAM   MOULDING. 


LEAVING  RISERS  OPEN  OR  CLOSED  ON 
LOAM  OR  DRY   SAND  MOULDS. 

AMONG  loam  moulders  and  shops  in  the  practice  of  cast- 
ing loam  moulds,  the  question  of  whether  the  risers  are  to 
be  left  open  or  closed  seems  to  have  been  established  more 
from  custom  than  from  any  thought  upon  the  subject. 
The  custom  of  one  shop  is  to  cast  all  loam  moulds  by 
having  the  risers  open ;  another  shop  would  not  per- 
mit such  a  thing,  and  it  has  often  been  a  matter  of  thought 
whether  such  customs  did  not  prevail  simply  because  it 
was  the  practice  of  other  moulders.  There  is  no  doubt 
many  moulders  leave  risers  open  or  shut  after  careful 
thought  and  study  upon  the  subject.  In  giving  their 
views,  it  is  possible  some  may  differ ;  but  if  they  do,  it 
will  result  in  their  giving  thought  to  the  subject,  and  not 
acting  blindly. 

When  iron  is  poured  into  a  mould  which  has  all  the  risers 
closed  up  tight,  the  air  in  the  mould  is  compressed.  Iron 
dropping  into  compressed  air  cannot  drop  with  such  a  dead 
fall  as  it  would  if  there  was  no  compression  ;  and  iron  run- 
ning into  iron,  having  a  pressure  of  air  upon  it,  cannot  rise 
so  fast  as  it  would,  if  there  were  no  pressure. 

Compressed  air  in  a  mould  will  often  prevent  its  scabbing 
and  the  surface  gases  from  coming  inwards.  These  facts 
seem  to  give  good  and  sufficient  reasons  for  drawing  the  fol- 
lowing conclusions  :  when  iron  is  poured  into  a  loam  mould 
from  the  bottom,  it  is  very  often  best  in  thin  castings  to 


LEAVING   RISERS   OPEN   OR   CLOSED.  235 

have  the  risers  open.  This  will  allow  the  iron  to  rise  up 
more  freely  and  faster.  Whenever  a  mould  is  cast  open,  the 
area  of  a  riser  or  risers  should  be  large  enough  to  permit  the 
air  to  pass  off  freely  and  without  a  noise.  It  is  often  best, 
when  the  iron  is  on  the  dull  side,  to  leave  the  risers  open, 
especially  in  such  castings  as  steam  cylinders,  etc.,  which 
have  many  cores  in  them.  The  cause  of  blow-holes  in  the 
upper  portion  of  such  castings  has  arisen  from  the  dullness 
of  the  iron  not  giving  collected  gases  or  air  a  good  chance 
to  escape  through  it.  When  a  mould  is  burnt  very  badly, 
it  is  better  to  keep  the  risers  closed,  as  there  will  be  a  com- 
pression against  its  surface,  instead  of  a  laxity  and  rushing 
upwardness  of  blasts  of  air  and  gases.  When  pouring  a 
mould  by  dropping  the  iron  from  the  top,  its  fall  and  cut- 
ting actions  will  be  made  easier  upon  the  moulds  by  having 
the  risers  closed  ;  for  such  castings  as  rolls,  spindles,  or  can- 
non, risers  heads  are  generally  left  open.  It  may  sound  odd 
to  some  moulders  to  read  such  an  expression  as  the  drawing 
down  of  loam  or  dry  sand  covering  plates  or  copes  ;  but  the 
writer  has  seen  the  cope  surface  of  anvil  block  castings  all 
covered  with  what  the  moulders  called  scabs.  And  to  pre- 
vent them,  they  used  different  mixtures  of  sand  or  loam, 
and  all  to  no  purpose.  They  were  then  told  if  they  would 
close  up  their  feeding  riser  heads,  so  as  to  allow  no  air 
or  gas  to  escape,  the  trouble  would  be  stopped  ;  but  the  ad- 
vice was  laughed  at,  and  it  was  not  until  they  saw  it  prac- 
ticed and  the  results  obtained  from  it,  that  they  believed 
loam  and  dry  sand  copes  could  be  drawn  down.  'It  is  not 
very  long  ago  a  certain  foundry  had  some  heavy  fly- 
wheel to  make,  and  the  rim  being  covered  over  with  a  loam 
ring,  the  cope  part  would  be  all  drawn  down,  so  a  remedy 
was  sought  for,  and  it  was  not  until  the  risers  or  feeders 
were  made  air-tight,  and  the  joint  also,  that  good  wheels 
were  cast. 


236  LOAM   MOULDING. 

A  flat  cope  surface  of  loam  or  dry  sand,  when  exposed  to 
the  direct  heat  of  a  rising  heavy  body  of  iron,  will  be 
drawn  down  upon  the  same  principle  as  green  sand  copes 
are  drawn  down,  and  any  one  who  doubts  the  truth  of  this 
will  be  convinced  sooner  or  later  of  its  correctness. 


RESERVOIRS   AtfD   LADLES.  237 


RESERVOIRS    AND    LADLES    FOR    POURING 
HEAVY  CASTINGS. 


pouring  heavy  castings  there  is  usually  a  feeling 
of  suspense  and  anxiety  experienced  by  all  interested.  It  is 
in  the  few  moments  that  the  moulds  are  filling  with  iron 
that  the  work  of  weeks,  perhaps  months,  is  tested.  The 
least  neglect  or  wrong-doing  in  the  construction  of  the 
mould  may  make  the  pouring  unsuccessful,  thereby  involv- 
ing a  loss  of  hundreds  of  dollars.  The  moulders  that  this 
class  of  castings  can  be  trusted  with  are  few.  They  must  be 
long-headed,  cautious  mechanics.  In  some  cases  a  man 
that  is  not  a  thorough  mechanic  may,  when  the  work  is 
planned  and  laid  out  for  him  by  his  foreman,  be  trusted 
with  large  responsible  jobs,  if  he  is  a  steady,  thoughtful,  and 
cautious  man.  When  a  mould  is  being  poured,  should  any- 
thing go  wrong,  it  is  very  rare  that  it  can  be  remedied. 
There  is  but  one  trial  for  a  mould,  and  during  the  pouring 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  waiting  a  while  to  fix  the  part  that 
is  wrong. 

In  the  engravings  is  shown  a  ladle  calculated  to  hold  ten 
tons  of  iron  ;  also  the  construction  of  a  reliable  reservoir  for 
receiving  and  holding  large  quantities  of  metal,  until  enough 
is  melted  to  pour  a  large  casting. 

"When  melting  iron  for  very  heavy  castings,  cupolas  and 
air  furnaces  are  generally  used.  From  the  air  furnaces  iron 
spouts  or  troughs  connect  with  the  reservoirs,  so  that  when 
all  the  iron  that  has  been  charged  up  is  melted  down  and 
found  to  be  of  the  right  temperature,  the  furnace  is  tapped 


238  RESERVOIRS  A^D   LADLES. 

out  and  the  iron  let  run  into  the  reservoir.  At  the  same 
time  the  cupolas  will  be  in  blast,  and  the  melted  iron  con- 
veyed from  them  to  the  reservoir  in  crane  ladles,  until  by 
measurement  there  is  found  to  be  enough  iron  in  the  reser- 
voir to  pour  the  casting.  Then  the  iron  is  let  run  from  the 
reservoir  into  the  mould. 

There  are  several  ways  of  constructing  reservoirs  for  hold- 
ing iron.  Sometimes  a  lot  of  pig  iron  can  be  built  up  in  a 
circle  to  form  a  green  sand  reservoir.  The  pig  iron  gives  a 
backing  to  the  green  sand,  preventing  the  reservoir  from 
bursting.  Under  such  green  sand  reservoirs  it  is  best  to  have 
a  coke  bed,  and,  to  form  an  outlet,  loamed  plates  can  be  used, 
having  the  pig  iron  placed  on  each  side  so  as  to  form  a  slide 
for  the  plate  to  work  up  and  down  in.  The  pigs  must  be 
protected  from  the  melted  iron  by  green  sand.  To  form 
the  bottom  of  the  outlet,  there  should  be  a  dry  sand  core 
used,  to  prevent  any  washing  away  when  the  iron  runs 
out. 

In  making  such  reservoirs  the  sides  are  built  up  with  con- 
siderable slant,  so  as  to  make  the  bottom  smaller  than  the 
top.  This  gives  strength  to  the  bottom.  A  sheet-iron  curb- 
ing would  answer  the  same  purpose  as  the  pig  iron,  and 
would  be  better  for  green-sand  reservoirs  from  4  up  to  8  feet 
mean  diameter. 

For  more  than  8  feet  it  is  safer  to  make  a  reservoir  as 
shown  in  the  engraving,  in  which  E,  E,  are  iron  plates  bed- 
ded on  a  solid  flooring ;  P  is  a  boiler  iron  curbing,  the 
plates  being  screwed  together  with  bolts.  Inside  of  this 
curbing  is  sand,  rammed  solid,  and  on  the  top  of  this  solid 
foundation  a  stout  cast-iron  plate,  Y,  is  bedded.  To  this 
plate  Y,  is  bolted  the  reservoir  curbing,  as  shown  at  B.  For 
very  deep  reservoirs  this  angle  iron  should  be  one  continu- 
ous ring  all  around  the  bottom  of  the  curbing.  It  can  be 
made  of  cast  iron  or  of  boiler  iron.  It  is  not  necessary  that 


RESERVOIRS   AND   LADLES. 


239 


(5  feet)  length  taken  after  ladle  is  mounted 


bolts?/*       ^M, oil  hole 


A  TEN  TON  LADLE 


I     *  K^/ /-y  Boiler  Plates  run  up  &  dowrt 


240  RESERVOIRS   AND   LADLES. 

the  bolts  should  be  very  close  together.  If  the  angle  iron  is 
heavy,  bolts  from  3  to  4  feet  apart  will  answer. 

For  an  outlet,  a  tapping  hole,  S,  similar  to  the  tapping 
hole  in  a  cupola,  may  be  made,  the  only  difference  being  in 
the  stopping  used. 

In  stopping  up  a  cupola  tapping  hole  clay  is  generally 
used,  and  the  tapping  out  is  all  done  with  bars  ;  but  in  the 
tapping  of  a  reservoir  it  is  only  once  done,  and  if  the  tap- 
ping hole  is  entirely  stopped  with  clay,  it  will  get  baked  so 
hard  as  be  likely  to  cause  trouble. 

About  the  best  way  is  to  fill  up  the  tapping  hole  with 
sharp  sand  wet  with  clay  wash,  and  then  in  front  of  the  hole 
lay  a  piece  or  two  of  pig  iron,  so  as  to  make  sure  of  holding 
the  pressure. 

When  all  is  ready  to  run  the  iron  into  the  mould,  remove 
the  pieces  of  pig  iron,  and  with  a  mason's  trowel  dig  out  the 
sharp  sand  (throwing  it  away  so  that  it  will  not  run  into  the 
casting),  until  the  sand  looks  red-hot,  which  is  a  sign  that 
there  is  not  much  thickness  of  sand  left.  Then,  with  a  sharp 
bar,  the  iron  can  be  tapped  out  without  any  danger  of  knock- 
ing in  the  breast  or  of  making  the  tapping  hole  any  larger 
than  wanted — a  danger  that  always  exists  when  the  tapping 
hole  is  stopped  up  with  clay,  or  with  any  substance  that  will 
bake  hard. 

As  regards  the  size  of  the  tapping  hole,  it  should  be  smaller 
than  the  runners  that  admit  the  iron  into  the  mould,  espe- 
cially so  when  the  casting  is  run  from  the  bottom  of  the 
mould,  for  the  iron  in  the  reservoir  has  a  head  pressure  to 
force  it  out,  while  the  free  flowing  of  the  iron  into  the  mould 
is  retarded  by  the  friction  of  the  gates  and  runners.  Also, 
as  the  iron  rises  up  in  the  mould,  the  slower  will  the  flow 
be. 

Another  plan  for  letting  out  the  iron  is  shown  at  K,  T,  T. 
Here  the  outlet  is  made  on  the  principle  of  a  damper  and 


RESERVOIRS   AND   LADLES. 

slide.  T  T  are  slides  that  are  secured  to  the  curbing.  K  is 
a  cast-iron  clamper,  or  plate,  having  prickers  cast  on  one  side, 
this  side  being  daubed  and  finished  up  with  loam,  and  dried. 
The  damper  is  then  set  in  its  place,  and  whatever  open  space 
there  is  left  between  the  slides  and  damper  is  filled  up  with 
loam  or  stiff  blacking.  This  prevents  any  leakage  of  the 
iron.  When  all  is  ready  the  damper  can  be  raised  as  wanted 
by  a  lever  or  with  a  crane.  The  iron  will  then  flow  out 
through  the  opening  as  marked  by  the  dotted  lines  at  A. 
Should  the  iron  come  out  too  fast  the  damper  can  be  weighted 
down  so  as  to  shut  up  the  opening  A,  as  desired. 

These  reservoirs  are  sometimes  used  for  the  purpose  of 
making  sure  of  having  the  iron  well  mixed.  la  making 
very  heavy  castings,  the  iron  is  sometimes  melted  in  a  num- 
ber of  furnaces  or  cupolas,  and  the  iron  as  taken  out  into 
separate  ladles  is  seldom  alike  in  quality.  If  a  casting  is 
poured  from  the  ladles  there  will  not  be  a  uniformity  of 
iron  throughout  the  casting.  If  instead  of  this  all  the  iron 
is  first  collected  in  one  mass,  there  is  a  good  chance  that 
ihe  grade  will  be  uniform  throughout,  which  for  many 
castings  is  a  very  important  consideration. 

Some  foundries  have  large,  deep  tanks,  made  to  hold 
from  10  up  to  20  tons  of  iron.  These  are  made  of  boiler 
iron,  similar  in  shape  to  a  crane  ladle,  but  of  simple  and 
inexpensive  construction.  When  there  is  a  heavy  casting  to 
be  poured,  these  tanks  will  be  set  upon  solid  blocking,  and 
the  iron  will  then  be  brought  from  the  furnaces  or  cupolas 
in  crane  ladles  and  poured  into  the  tanks.  When  the  tanks 
are  full,  or  have  enough  iron  in  them  for  the  purpose,  they 
are  tapped  from  the  bottom  of  the  tank.  These  tanks  are 
generally  lined  up  with  fire-brick,  and  are  kept  in  some 
part  of  the  shop  where  they  can  be  hoisted  by  cranes  and 
placed  wherever  wanted. 

Sometimes  these  tanks  have  trunnions  and  under-straps 
11 


242  RESERVOIRS  AND  LADLES. 

fastened  to  them,  and  instead  of  supporting  them  on  block- 
ing, the  tank  will  be  held  up  by  having  the  trunnions  rest 
on  strong  iron  horses. 

There  are  generally  spouts  or  troughs  used,  as  shown  at 
D,  to  convey  the  iron  into  basins  before  it  enters  the  mould. 
These  troughs  are  generally  made  of  cast  iron,  daubed  up 
with  loam  and  dried  ;  when  there  is  a  long  run  required,  the 
troughs  are  united,  as  shown  at  W,  and  the  joints  are  daubed 
up  and  dried  with  hot  irons  or  fire. 

The  basins  used  to  receive  the  iron  from  the  reservoirs  or 
tanks  should  be  made  large,  so  as  to  give  a  good  chance  to 
regulate  for  fast  or  slow  flowing  of  the  iron.  Such  basins 
are  the  better  and  safer  if  made  of  dry  sand  or  loam. 

Pig  beds  are  usually  made  to  receive  the  overplus  iron,  of 
which  there  should  always  be  some  in  order  to  insure  against 
pouring  the  casting  short. 

Sometimes  reservoirs  or  tanks  are  used  in  connection  with 
crane  ladles.  In  this  case  pig  beds  will  seldom  be  required, 
for  the  iron  in  the  tanks  or  reservoirs  can  be  so  calculated 
as  to  make  it  sure  that  it  will  be  all  needed,  and  then  the 
iron  in  the  ladles  can  be  poured  out  until  the  mould  is  filled 
up,  at  which  moment  the  pouring  can  be  stopped  and  the 
iron  left  in  the  ladles  can  be  used  to  pour  some  lighter  cast- 
ing with,  thereby  saving  the  cost  of  melting  a  lot  of  extra 
iron,  and  the  labor  to  handle  it  twice,  saying  nothing  about 
the  mess  a  lot  of  iron  makes  when  poured  out  on  a  foundry 
floor. 

Sometimes  castings  are  run  directly  from  the  air  furnaces 
without  using  any  reservoirs  or  tanks.  The  iron  will  run 
along  through  spouts  or  troughs  into  a  basin,  and  from  the 
basin  into  the  mould.  A  branch  trough  is  arranged,  so  that 
when  the  mould  is  full,  by  raising  an  iron  shute  the  surplus 
iron  is  allowed  to  run  into  a  pig  bed. 

Often  there  will  be  two  or  three  castings  poured  directly 


KESEKVOIRS  AND   LADLES.  243 

from  one  air  furnace.  One  is  first  poured,  and  then  an  iron 
shute  is  raised,  and  the  iron  made  to  flow  into  the  second 
mould,  and  so  on.  When  arranging  these  branch  troughs 
to  pour  two  or  three  castings  at  one  tapping,  the  main 
trough  D  must  have  more  or  less  of  a  fall  to  it,  according 
to  the  length  of  the  run,  and  the  first  casting  to  be  poured 
should  be  connected  with  the  highest  branch,  No.  1.  To 
pour  the  second  casting,  the  upper  shute,  after  the  weights 
are  taken  off,  is  lifted  up,  and  then  the  iron  flows  down  into 
branch  No.  2.  The  branch  No.  1  is  then  closed  up  by  using 
an  iron  stop,  as  shown  at  F,  and  by  shoveling  in  some  sand 
and  putting  in  pieces  of  pig  iron  at  the  back.  After  all 
the  moulds  are  full,  the  surplus  iron  is  run  into  pig  beds,  as 
described. 

The  ten-ton  ladle  shown  was  copied  from  a  tracing  loaned 
by  a  friend,  Mr.  John  T.  Stoney,  a  moulder,  and  superintend- 
ent of  large  experience.  The  ladles  thus  made  have  given  the 
best  of  satisfaction  as  regards  durability  and  easy  working. 
Measurements  are  given  to  assist  any  one  who  may  want  to 
build  a  first-class  screw  ladle  for  carrying  up  to  ten  tons  of 
iron.  For  a  fifteen-ton  ladle  it  would  be  safer  to  have  the 
parts  enlarged.  In  building  ladles,  the  top  diameter  and  the 
depth  are  generally  made  the  same.  Taking  this  for  a  rule, 
the  following  figures  will  show  the  capacity  and  sizes  of 
ladles  usually  wanted  in  a  foundry  : 


Capacity. 

16,870  Ibs. 

12,906  " 
8,805  " 
4,680  " 
2,395  " 
1,190  " 
341  " 


CRANE 

LADLES. 

Top  Diam. 

Bottom  Diam. 

Depth. 

46" 

40J" 

46" 

41J" 

38" 

41  J" 

37" 

32J" 

37" 

30" 

26i" 

30" 

24" 

21" 

24" 

19" 

16J" 

19" 

isj" 

11" 

12£" 

244  RESERVOIRS   AND   LADLES. 

HAND  LADLES. 

Top  Diam.       Bottom  Diam.         Depth.  Capacity. 

11"  9J"  11"  230  Ibs. 

9"  7|"  9"  126     " 

The  foregoing  figures  represent  inside  measurements  of 
ladles  when  lined  or  daubed  up  ;  so  that,  if  the  ladle  is  to 
be  lined  up  with  fire-bricks  or  clay  daubing,  the  thickness 
of  the  bricks  or  daubing  to  be  used  must  be  added  to  the 
diameters  and  depths  given.  To  test  the  amount  a  ladle 
will  hold,  can  be  told  by  filling  a  ladle  full  of  water,  and 
multiplying  its  weight  by  seven  (the  approximate  specific 
gravity  of  molten  iron). 

For  lining  up  reservoirs  that  are  only  intended  to  be  used 
once,  common  brick  can  be  used,  and  on  the  surfaces  ex- 
posed to  the  liquid  iron  a  coat  of  loam  rubbed  on,  as  shown 
by  the  heavy  dark  line  on  the  surface  of  the  bricks.  After 
the  bricks  and  loam  are  well  dried  by  fire,  a  good  coat  of 
blacking  is  applied  to  the  surface  of  the  loam. 

To  line  up  large  crane- ladles,  or  tanks,  fire-bricks  are  used, 
as  shown  in  the  cut  of  the  ladle.  The  angle  irons  shown  are  for 
holding  the  brick  or  the  clay  daubing,  although  some  foundry- 
men  will  not  use  them,  thinking  them  more  trouble  than  service. 

For  daubing  eight  down  to  four-ton  ladles,  fire-brick  are 
generally  used  for  the  bottom,  and  on  the  sides  a  stiif  clay 
daubing  is  used. 

Below  four  tons,  clay  daubing  is  used  on  the  bottom  as  well 
as  on  the  sides.  The  thickness  of  clay  on  the  bottom  is 
from  1"  up  to  2J",  and  on  the  sides  the  clay  is  thicker  at 
the  bottom  than  at  the  top,  running  from  2"  to  1".  For 
small  hand  ladles,  the  thinner  the  daubing  can  be  used  the 
handier  the  ladles  will  be. 

It  is  not  the  thickness  of  the  clay  or  daubing  that  is  to  be 
depended  on  so  much  as  it  is  the  being  sure  that  all  the 
cracks  in  the  daubing  are  well  closed  up,  and  that  the  clay 
is  of  an  equal  thickness  all  around  the  ladle. 


SCABBING   OF    GREEN   SAND   MOULDS,    ETC.  245 


SCABBING  OF  GREEN  SAND,  DRY  SAND, 
AND  LOAM  MOULDS. 


section  of  the  mould  that  is  covered  in  four  or  five 
seconds  with  a  body  of  iron  about  two  inches  thick  can  be 
rammed  harder,  and  will  require  less  venting,  than  if  it  took 
a  longer  time  to  get  this  body  of  iron  over  it.  The  thicker 
the  body  of  iron,  the  more  the  air,  steam,  and  gases  are 
forced  to  escape  downward  through  the  vents  and  sand. 
Wherever  a  scab  is  seen  on  a  casting,  it  is  certain  that  the 
iron  bubbled  and  boiled  at  that  point  when  pouring. 

There  must  be  a  bubble  before  there  can  be  a  scab.  The 
bubble  may  be  caused  by  hardness,  closeness,  or  wet  sand. 
The  wet  sand  causes  steam  to  be  raised,  and  for  release  it 
will  follow  the  direction  of  the  least  resistance.  The  same 
result  will  follow  from  hard  ramming  or  closeness  of  sand. 
The  air  and  gases  cannot  escape  fast  enough  through  the 
vent  and  sand,  so  they  lift  or  escape  through  the  surface  of 
the  mould  and  through  the  iron,  causing  bubbling  and 
scabbing  of  the  mould. 

There  are  instances  in  casting  where  the  lower  part  of  the 
mould  is  filled  quickly,  and  as  the  rising  iron  comes  up,  it 
has  to  cover  over  a  large  surface  projection,  or  green  sand 
cores,  from  which  point  upwards  the  casting  is  a  solid  body 
of  iron  ;  therefore  the  iron  does  not  rise  so  fast  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  mould,  thereby  causing  the  top  surface  of  a  green 
sand  core  or  projection  to  be  slowly  covered  with  the  ris- 
ing iron,  which  will  cause  such  parts  to  scab  very  easy,  if 
the  greatest  care  and  judgment  are  not  used. 


246  SCABBING    OF   GREEK    SAND   MOULDS,  ETC. 

For  such  cases  it  is  a  good  thing  to  mix  some  sharp  sand, 
like  lake  or  bank  sand,  in  with  the  moulding  sand,  using 
this  mixture  as  a  facing  sand.  For  the  top  surface  of  a  pro- 
jection or  core,  a  mixture,  such  as  one  part  of  lake  or 
bank  sand,  mixed  with  two  of  moulding  sand,  will  allow 
the  surface  to  be  firmly  rammed,  and  still  be  open  enough 
to  allow  the  rising  iron  to  quietly  lay  on  it,  no  matter 
how  long  it  is  before  a  pressure  or  body  of  iron  is  raised 
upon  it.  Projections  or  cores  in  a  mould  generally  need 
to  be  rammed  and  rodded  well,  and  are  the  parts  that 
need  the  greatest  care.  It  is  also  important  to  keep  all 
risers  and  feeding  heads  closed  air  tight,  as,  when  they  are 
open  on  this  class  of  work,  the  air  rushes  out,  taking  the 
pressure  of  the  air  and  gases  off  the  surface  of  the  pro- 
jection or  cores.  As  the  lower  part  of  the  mould  fills  up 
first,  the  gases  and  vent  from  it  will  be  drawn  by  the  escap- 
ing current  of  air  through  the  risers.  This  combined  cur- 
rent, in  escaping,  lifts  or  starts  the  surface  of  the  projec- 
tions, and  when  the  iron  comes  up  to  it,  the  iron  fills  up  all 
the  vent  holes  and  sets  the  mould  blowing.  A  blowing 
mould  from  this  cause  is  a  dangerous  one.  In  some  cases 
it  will  not  stop  until  all  the  iron  is  blown  out  of  the  mould. 
The  above  are  a  few  of  the  many  reasons  for  lost  and  scabby 
castings  in  green  and  sand  moulds. 

As  regards  scabbing  in  loam  and  dry  sand  moulds,  the 
first  and  greatest  cause  is  in  not  having  the  mould  well 
dried,  as  the  steam  generated  in  process  of  casting  acts  on 
this  class  of  work  in  the  same  manner  as  it  does  on  green 
sand  work.  The  only  difference  is,  that  sometimes  the  loam 
or  dry  sand  buckles,  or  is  pushed  out  into  the  molten  iron. 
This  buckling  is  caused  by  confined  steam,  gases,  air,  or 
some  kinds  of  close  sand.  The  buckling  in  such  cases  is 
not  like  a  green  sand  scab.  When  the  casting  is  taken 
from  the  sand,  a  few  blows  with  a  hammer  upon  the  scab- 


SCABBING   OF  GREEN"  SAND  MOULDS,  ETC.  24? 

bed  spot  will  cause  the  lumps  of  sand  to  fly  out,  leaving 
holes  in  the  casting.  In  the  case  of  a  green  sand  scab,  the 
sand  is  generally  found  in  some  other  part  of  the  casting.  In 
loam  or  dry  sand  there  is  not  the  amount  of  air  or  gases  to 
be  carried  off  by  vents  that  there  is  in  green  sand.  It  is 
only  in  pockets,  corners,  and  under  flanges  that  it  becomes 
necessary  to  carry  off  vents  directly.  With  a  mould  well 
dried,  and  the  loam,  sand,  and  blacking  mixed  in  the  proper 
proportions,  there  is  very  little  danger  of  scabs.  Having 
had  about  an  equal  practice  in  the  three  branches,  I  can 
safely  say,  that  green  sand  work,  so  far  as  scabbing  is  con- 
cerned, is  the  most  difficult  to  contend  with.  Little  does  a 
looker-on  know  of  the  unseen  injury  to  castings  which  a 
moulder  can  do  by  ramming  the  different  parts  of  his 
mould  too  lightly  or  too  heavily. 


248  CONTRACTION   OF   CASTINGS. 


CONTKACTION    AND   CKACKING    OF    CAST- 

INGS. 

THE  query  of  why  a  casting  cracks,  is  generally  looked 
upon  as  a  conundrum  ;  at  least  the  different  answers  to  the 
question,  and  the  different  theories  on  the  subject,  would 
lead  one  to  think  so.  There  are  very  few  things  about  a 
foundry  that  seems  to  be  so  little  understood  as  the  con- 
traction of  iron  when  cooling.  Few  appear  to  know 
whether  there  is  any  difference  in  the  contraction  of  thin 
and  thick  castings,  hard  or  soft  iron.  Is  the  contraction 
of  iron  gradual,  or  is  it  true  that  castings  have  little  or  no 
contraction  vertically,  as  is  thought  to  be  the  case  by  a 
writer  .on  "Why  don't  Castings  Shrink  Vertically  ?"  in 
the  American  Machinist,  March  26,  1881,  and  signed 
"Moulder." 

The  writer  of  the  article  referred  to  will  please  excuse 
me  for  not  noticing  it  before.  My  only  excuse  is  that  I 
was  waiting  to  see  if  some  one  else  would  not'  answer  it. 

My  opinion  is  that  castings  do  contract  vertically,  which 
opinion  is  borne  out  by  experience  and  by  practical  tests 
which  I  have  made. 

Not  long  since  I  had  two  patterns  made,  54"  long  by 
one  inch  square.  These  patterns  were  moulded  in  two 
flasks.  One  flask  was  suspended  so  as  to  cast  the  mould 
vertically,  and  the  other  was  cast  horizontally.  When 
moulding  the  one  that  was  to  be  cast  vertically,  care  was 
taken  to  ram  it  so  that  there  would  be  no  straining  on  the 
sides,  and  to  prevent  the  lower  end  from  straining  there 


tJNIVEKJ 


CONTRACTION   AND   CRACKING   OF   CASTINGS.          249 

was  an  iron  chill  rammed  firmly  up  against  the  end  of  the 
pattern.  These  two  flasks  were  cast  out  of  the  same  small 
ladle  of  iron.  If  "  Moulder  "  will  try  his  theory  by  the  above 
practical  test,  he  will  see  whether  it  is  not  correct,  for  he 
will  not  be  able  to  tell,  so  far  as  the  contraction  is  con- 
cerned, which  of  the  castings  were  cast  vertically.  This  is 
as  fair  a  test  as  could  be  made  to  determine  whether  cast- 
ings contract  vertically  or  not.  The  moulder  may  say  he 
has  measured  castings  that  have  been  cast  vertically,  and 
found  no  contraction.  This  may  be  all  true  enough. 
There  are  lots  of  castings  thus  made  which  will  measure 
longer  than  the  pattern.  So  also  many  castings  cast  hori- 
zontally have  been  found  to  be  larger  than  the  pattern. 
Again  the  question  could  be  asked,  "  What  is  the  cause  of 
this  ?"  to  answer  which  it  can  be  said  :  "  The  straining  of 
moulds." 

A  moulder  or  pattern  maker  that  has  had  experience  in 
making  heavy  rolls  will,  or  should,  always  make  the  lower 
end  of  a  swept  mould,  or  the  pattern,  smaller  than  the  end 
that  is  cast  up.  How  much  smaller  will  depend  on  the 
length  and  body  of  the  casting.  The  difference  will  vary 
from  -jJg-  up  to  i  of  an  inch. 

I  have  seen  a  rolling  mill  boss  come  into  a  foundry  with 
such  fire  in  his  eyes  that  the  poor  moulder  has  trembled 
all  over  when  asked,  "Why  in  the  name  of  common  sense 
he  could  not  make  the  lower  end  of  his  rolls  the  same  size 
as  the  upper  end,  and  not  have  the  wabbler  so  much  too 
large  that  it  would  take  a  good  chipper  a  week  to  chip  it 
so  as  to  have  the  coupling  that  goes  easy  on  the  top  end  fit 
the  bottom  end?" 

That  castings  contract  vertically  has  often  been  proved  in 

making  rolls.     I  have  seen  the  upper  wabblers  cracked  and 

pulled  off  from  the  neck  of  rolls,  from  no  other  cause  than 

the  contraction  of  the  casting,  and  the  carelessness  of  the 

11* 


250  CONTRACTION  OF  CASTINGS. 

moulder.  That  is,  when  feeding  up  his  roll  with  hot  iron 
to  supply  the  shrinkage,  he  would  let  a  flange  form  on  top 
of  his  feeding  head,  so  as  to  come  out  and  rest  on  the  iron 
flask  or  boxes  that  are  used  for  forming  the  feeding  head, 
and  when  the  cooling  crust  commenced  to  contract  it  was 
held  up  by  this  flange.  Of  course  it  formed  a  crack  or 
breakage  in  the  neck,  or  wabblers,  because  the  half  molten 
metal  was  not  strong  enough  to  lift  up  the  whole  roll  from 
the  bottom  of  the  mould. 

In  moulding  castings  that  are  cast  vertically  there  is  gen- 
erally more  or  less  straining  of  the  bottom  portion  of  the 
mould,  which  in  many  cases  cannot  be  avoided.  Loam 
and  dry  sand  moulds  are  strained  more  or  less,  but  of  course 
not  so  much  as  green  sand  moulds.  To  know  whether  a  cast- 
ing has  contracted  vertically  or  not,  it  is  necessary  to  take 
exact  measurements  of  the  mould  (not  the  pattern  or  sweep), 
as  there  is  often  a  difference  between  the  mould  and  the 
sweep  or  pattern. 

After  the  casting  comes  out,  compare  the  measuring  rod 
or  stick  with  it,  carefully  note  and  allow  for  evident  strain- 
ing. I  think  it  will  be  found  that  the  casting  has  con- 
tracted as  much  vertically  as  it  would  horizontally,  were  it 
possible  to  have  cast  it  so.  There  are  often  castings  poured 
horizontally  that,  if  measured,  would  not  only  show  no  con- 
traction, but  would  be  larger  than  the  pattern  they  were 
moulded  from,  especially  if  the  castings  were  heavy. 

Cores  will  sometimes  greatly  prevent  the  free  contraction 
of  a  casting.  Sometimes  light  proportioned  castings,  having 
cores  surrounded  with  metal,  will  crack,  from  there  not 
being  body  enough  of  iron  to  press  the  cores  together. 
When  iron  is  run  all  around  cores,  and  the  thickness  of 
iron  is  over  one  inch,  the  cores  will  expand  so  as  to  often  force 
iron  up  through  the  feeding  heads,  risers,  and  pouring  gates. 
Should  the  tops  of  the  gates  get  frozen  soon  after  the  mould 


CONTRACTION   AND   CRACKING   OF   CASTINGS.         251 

is  poured,  so  as  not  to  allow  the  expanded  iron  to  come  out 
through  the  gates,  the  iron  will  press  against  the  sides  and 
surfaces  of  the  mould,  forcing  them  outward,  and  when  the 
castings  come  out,  they  are  sometimes  found  to  be  larger, 
or  as  large,  as  the  pattern  ;  thus  showing,  as  far  as  measure- 
ment is  concerned,  that  there  has  been  no  contraction. 

The  purer  or  better  the  grades  of  iron,  the  less  contrac- 
tion there  is.  Heavy  bodies  of  iron  contract  less  than  light 
ones.  The  more  contraction  in  iron  the  more  liable  are  the 
castings  to  crack.  Castings  having  light  and  heavy  parts 
combined  or  connected  always  have  a  strain  on  them  ;  in 
fact,  there  are  very  few  castings  made  but  have  more  or  less 
of  a  strain  upon  them. 

Pattern  makers  usually  allow  the  same  shrinkage  on  all 
castings.  If  they  would  make  a  small  piece  the  same  size 
as  some  part  of  a  mould  to  be  poured,  and  have  the  piece 
moulded  and  poured  from  the  same  iron  and  at  the  same 
time  the  main  casting  is  poured,  they  would  find  that  gen- 
erally the  iron  contracts  differently  in  the  two  cases. 

The  moulder,  when  drawing  these  test  pieces,  must  be 
very  careful  not  to  rap  them  end-ways. 

It  is  not  the  pattern  makers  that  are  to  blame  for  the 
prevailing  ignorance  of  the  different  contraction  of  iron  in 
light  and  heavy  castings.  It  is  the  foremen  and  proprietors 
of  the  foundry,  for  allowing  the  pattern  maker  to  use  the 
same  shrink  rule  for  every  pattern  he  makes. 

When  a  casting  comes  out  too  large,  the  first  thing  that 
is  thought  of  is  to  swear  that  the  pattern  maker  has  made 
the  pattern  too  large.  When  it  is  measured  and  found  to 
be  right,  they  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  moulder  has 
let  his  mould  strain  too  much,  which  is  an  admirable  corner 
to  crawl  out  of. 

If  proprietors  of  foundries  would  order  their  foremen, 
also  their  pattern  makers,  to  take  measurements  for  one 


262 


CONTRACTION   AND   CRACKING   OF   CASTINGS. 


month  of  all  the  different  forms  of  castings  that  they  may 
be  called  upon  to  cast,  at  least  all  that  are  large  and  of  dif- 
ferent proportions  ;  also,  during  this  month's  experiments, 
make  test  bars  of  all  the  different  grades  of  iron  that  are 
used  in  the  foundry,  and  after  making  note  of  their  con- 
traction then  try 
their  tensile  or  break- 
ing strain,  something 
would  be  learned.  To 
do  all  this  requires  no 
great  labor  or  time. 
Moulders  that  take  an 
interest  in  their  trade 
could,  whenever  they 
make  a  casting  of  any 
note,  test  the  contrac- 
tion and  keep  a  record 
of  experiments  that 
would  be  valuable. 

The  moulder  or  pat- 
tern maker  is  not  al- 
ways responsible  for 
the  breaking  or  crack- 
ing of  a  casting.  The 
designer  or  draughts- 
man often  designs 
forms  that  the  best 
of  iron  and  manage- 
ment would  not  pre- 
vent from  cracking.  Sometimes  castings  will  stand  in  the 
shop  for  weeks,  and  even  months,  and,  to  the  surprise  of  all, 
will  then  crack. 

Not  long  since  I  had  occasion  to  cast  a  bar  4"  x  9",  and 
14  feet  long.     With  the  same  quality  of  iron  I  cast  a  test 


CONTRACTION   AND   CRACKING    OF   CASTINGS.          253 

bar  exactly  the  same  length,  and  |"  X  2",  both  of  which 
are  shown  at  V  and  D.  The  contraction  of  the  thick  bar 
was  only  J",  while  that  of  the  thin  one  was  1 J",  or  a  differ- 
ence of  J".  This  gives  some  idea  of  the  strain  that  is 
always  in  castings  that  are  not  made  of  proper  proportions, 
and  also  shows  the  difference  there  is  in  the  contraction  of 
thin  and  thick  bodies  of  iron.  These  simple  tests  are  such 
as  any  one  can  make. 

To  test  the  difference  of  strength  between  a  casting 
poured  with  hot  iron  and  one  poured  with  dull  iron,  I  made 
two  bars,  and  poured  one  with  the  iron  hot,  and  then  stir- 
ring and  mixing  up  the  rest  of  the  iron  with  a  rod  (so  as  to 
work  up  the  impurities  in  the  iron  to  the  surface),  until  it 
was  as  dull  as  would  run  with  safety,  I  poured  the  second 
one.  The  next  day  I  took  the  bars,  and  resting  j"  of  each 
end  on  a  good,  solid  iron  bearing  —  the  one  that  was 
poured  with  hot  iron  first — commenced  by  putting  on  50 
pounds  scale  weights  in  the  middle  of  the  bar.  Eight 
50  pounds  were  piled  on,  but  before  the  weight  of  the  ninth 
one  was  all  on  the  bar  broke. 

Now,  taking  the  bar  that  was  poured  with  dull  iron, 
the  whole  nine  weights  were  piled  on,  and  an  additional 
60  pounds'  weight,  the  whole  resting  on  the  bar  about 
eight  seconds,  when  it  broke.  That  is,  the  one  poured 
dull  broke  with  510  pounds,  while  the  one  poured  with 
hot  iron  broke  with  a  weight  of  between  400  and  450 
pounds.  The  size  of  these  bars  was  1"  square  and  4  feet  6" 
long. 

Often  a  man  will  go  to  a  foundry  to  get  a  bid  on  some 
plain  plates,  and  thinking  that  the  foundry  man  will  put 
poor  iron  into  them,  he  will  ask  for  a  low  figure.  He  gets 
his  low  figures  ;  also  gets  the  poor  iron  in  his  plates.  Com- 
mon plate  castings  require  as  good  iron  as  the  common  run 
of  machinery  castings ;  in  fact,  there  are  very  few  castings 


254  CONTRACTION   OF   CASTINGS. 

made  but  should  have  fairly  good  iron  put  into  them,  with 
the  exception  of  such  pieces  as  sash  weights. 

Often  plates  are  made  with  holes  to  lighten  them,  or  for 
some  special  purpose.  When  holes  are  made  in  castings  for 
lightening  them,  the  castings  will  be  stronger  for  having 
the  holes  round,  oblong,  or  oval,  instead  of  having  them 
square.  Sometimes,  when  square  holes  are  made  in  cast- 
ings, they  will  crack,  as  shown  at  P;  whereas,  if  the  corner 
is  rounded,  as  shown  at  A,  it  will  not  crack.  A  heavy  rib 
X,  cast  on  to  strengthen  square  holes,  will  sometimes  do 
more  harm  than  good,  as  it  causes  a  strain  by  making  the 
casting  disproportionate. 

I  have  seen  castings  having  on  them  heavy  projections, 
flanges,  or  ribs  crack,  that,  were  they  cast  without  these 
parts,  would  stand  a  great  blow  or  weight  upon  them  before 
cracking  or  breaking.  Cracks  generally  start  from  some 
thin  or  sharp  corner,  and,  when  once  started,  run  through 
the  entire  body  of  the  casting,  the  thick  portions  offering 
no  more  resistance,  apparently,  than  the  thin.  A  moulder, 
when  making  a  new  casting,  should  study  the  points  or 
sharp  corners  that  will  be  subject  to  strains,  or  dispropor- 
tionate contraction ;  and,  if  possible,  have  the  sharp  cor- 
ners made  rounding,  and  the  thin  or  thick  portions  made 
heavier  or  lighter.  Should  he  be  told  that  it  will  not  do  to 
change  these  parts,  he  then,  should  the  casting  crack  (pro- 
viding that  he  has  done  all  that  he  could  to  uniformly  cool 
it),  is  not  to  be  held  responsible.  Often  castings  crack  that 
would  not,  had  the  heavy  portions  been  exposed  to  the  air 
as  soon  as  they  would  admit  of  it. 

Some  may  say,  with  better  iron  the  castings  would  not 
crack.  This  is  all  true  enough  in  many  cases.  A  good, 
strong  iron,  having  very  little  contraction  about  it,  would 
almost  make  a  surety  of  making  a  casting  of  extreme  pro- 
portions without  liability  of  cracking ;  but  this  is  not  the 


CONTRACTION   AND   CRACKING   OF   CASTINGS.          255 

kind  of  iron  we  usually  have  to  deal  with.  Of  course  the 
pig-iron  merchant  tells  us  his  iron  is  possessed  of  all  these 
qualities,  and,  not  having  means  of  knowing  till  we  buy  a 
car  load  or  so,  which  is  never  found  better  than  recom- 
mended, but  which  011  hand  must  be  used. 

The  best  brands  of  iron  that  can  be  had  will  never  have 
two  shipments  alike.  The  trial  lot  may  be  very  fair,  on  the 
strength  of  which  you  may  make  a  large  order,  which, 
when  received,  will  very  seldom  be  as  good  as  the  first. 

The  cut  shown  of  a  fly-wheel,  having  the  hub  split  be- 
tween every  arm,  is  a  good  plan  to  adopt  when  making 
large  pulleys,  fly-wheels,  or  gears  having  cast-iron  arms.  A 
wheel  made  in  this  way  can  be  relied  on.  Each  arm  being 
a  separate  casting  by  itself,  when  it  contracts  it  is  free  from 
any  strain  or  pull,  as  is  the  case  when  the  hub  is  made  in 
one  solid  casting.  Castings  made  this  way  are  banded  with 
wroughc  rings,  and  the  opening  in  the  hub  filled  with 
babbitt. 

When  a  wheel  of  any  description  has  cast-iron  arms,  rim, 
and  hub  all  one  piece,  there  is  generally  a  strain  on  the 
arms  or  rim  of  the  wheel,  in  extent  depending  on  the  pro- 
portion of  the  rim  and  arms.  If  the  rim  is  light  and  the 
arms  heavy,  we  may  look  for  a  cracked  rim,  caused  by  the 
thin  rim  contracting  faster  and  more  than  the  arms.  Again, 
the  arms  will  be  the  part  to  crack,  caused  by  the  rim  being 
too  heavy.  In  either  instance  this  generally  happens  while 
the  casting  is  yet  hot  and  in  the  sand. 

In  the  case  of  pulleys,  etc.,  having  the  arms  crack  after 
the  casting  is  taken  out  of  the  sand,  we  have  a  more  com- 
plicated state  of  affairs  to  deal  with.  In  pulleys  having 
heavy  arms,  compared  with  the  rim,  we  often  see  the  heavy 
arms  cracked,  the  light  rim  remaining  whole.  In  looking 
at  such  castings  it  will  be  observed  that  the  hub  is  heavy 
in  proportion  to  the  arms  and  rim.  This  hub  is  the  last 


256  CONTRACTION  OF  CASTINGS. 

portion  of  the  pulley  to  become  solid ;  the  rim,  being  light, 
has  become  solid,  and  is  already  contracting,  driving  before 
it  the  half-molten  arms  into  the  yet  liquid  iron  in  the  heavy 
hub.  When  the  hub  solidifies,  it  contracts,  pulling  with  it 
the  arms,  causing  a  strain,  which,  when  the  pulley  gets  a 
slight  jar,  will  make  the  arms  crack  at  the  weakest  point. 

The  same  principle  is  involved  in  light-armed  pulleys 
as  in  heavy  ones ;  that  is,  so  far  as  the  heavy  hub  is  con- 
cerned. 

When  there  is  a  heavy  hub  required,  it  should  be  cooled 
as  soon  as  possible  by  stripping  around  it,  taking  out  the 
core,  and  cooling  with  water. 

Above  everything,  as  regards  the  contraction  and  crack- 
ing of  castings,  we  should  not  forget  that  a  thin  body  of 
iron  will  contract  more  than  a  thick  body,  and,  whenever 
there  is  a  casting  formed  disproportionately,  there  is  always 
more  or  less  strain  on  some  portion  of  it.  And  also  massive 
castings  are  subject  to  exterior  and  interior  strains,  as  will 
be  seen  by  the  following  discussion: 

The  question  is  asked,  Why  a  heavy  body  of  iron  will  not 
contract  as  much  as  a  light  one  ? 

Knowing  such  to  be  the  case,  it  must  also  be  acknowl- 
edged that  there  must  be  a  cause,  and  as  this  is  one  of  those 
subjects  that  practical  tests  can  very  seldom  be  applied  to, 
the  following  theory  is  presented: 

When  castings  cool,  some  of  their  parts  always  cool  faster 
than  others,  and  the  parts  that  cool  the  first  are  the  exterior 
or  outward  portions.  Often  there  are  castings  cooled 
solid  on  the  outside,  while  the  inside  portion  is  perhaps 
in  a  molten  state.  To  discuss  this  question  we  will  take  the 
size  of  the  castings  shown  in  the  cut,  one  being  4"  X  9", 
and  the  other  £•"  x  2",  the  moulds  for  each  being  14  feet 
long.  These  were  cast  with  the  same  iron,  and  at  the 
same  time.  Now  let  us  watch  the  process  of  cooling. 


CONTRACTION   AND   CRACKING   OF   CASTINGS.         257 

The  light  one  soon  commences  to  coo],  and  we  see  it  con- 
tracting. The  outside  portion  of  the  thick  casting  com- 
mences to  cool,  and  endeavors  to  contract  also,  but  it 
cannot.  We  look  at  it  to  determine  the  reason,  and 
inside  this  cooling  crust  we  know  that  it  is  very  hot,  and 
the  further  towards  the  center  we  go  the  hotter  we  find  it. 
The  inner  portions  of  this  casting  we  know  are  not  yet  in 
a  state  to  contract  as  fast  as  the  outer  portions,  and  when 
a  casting  becomes  entirely  cool  its  contraction  ceases.  In 
this  casting  some  parts  may  become  cool,  and  still  all  parts 
not  have  contracted  as  much  as  the  nature  of  its  iron 
requires.  There  is  a  certain  amount  of  tensile  qualities 
about  iron  that  permits  its  molecules  or  particles  to  be 
stretched  to  a  certain  limit,  and  when  this  limit  is  exceeded 
the  result  is  a  cracked  casting. 

Keturning  back  to  the  cooling  casting,  we  find  that  the 
slower  interior  cooling  iron  will  not  allow  the  faster  exterior 
cooling  iron  to  contract  as  much  as  it  should,  according  to 
the  degree  of  heat  it  has  lost,  and  by  this  cooling  process 
we  have  the  exterior  portion  of  the  casting  contracted 
by  forces  which  hold  it  back  from  contracting  as  much  as 
it  should.  Now,  when  the  interior  portion  contracts,  it 
finds  the  same .  resisting  forces  to  prevent  its  natural  con- 
traction, the  exterior  having  lost  most  of  its  heat,  and 
therefore  having  contracted  about  all  it  can,  will  not  permit 
the  interior  to  contract  any  more  than  the  exterior ;  and 
thus,  as  one  holds  back,  so  does  the  other,  and  the  result  is 
that  the  £"  X  2"  casting,  not  having  these  conflicting  forces 
to  contend  with,  contracts  about  all  that  the  grade  of  iron 
composing  it  naturally  calls  for,  while  with  the  thick  cast- 
ing, 4"  x  9",  we  find  the  contraction  just  about  one-half  of 
what  it  should  be  if  it  had  been  as  free  -to  contract  as  the 
light  casting.  Often  when  looking  at  solid  massive  cast- 
ings, cracks  are  seen  running  from  3"  up  to  8''  long,  and 


258  CONTRACTION   OF   CASTINGS. 

about  -J"  deep  ;  these  cracks  are  usually  in  sharp  angles,  and 
their  origin  can  seemingly  be  attributed  to  the  strain  there  is 
upon  the  exterior  portion  of  the  casting,  caused  by  the  law 
that  apparently  governs  the  cooling  of  thick  bodies. 

Iron,  when  changing  from  a  liquid  to  a  solid  state,  is  said 
to  become  a  mass  of  crystals,  which  assume  different  forms 
and  sizes,  being  regulated  by  the  length  of  time  the  casting 
takes  to  cool,  and  the  temperature  of  the  iron  when  poured 
into  the  mould.  The  lines  of  crystallization  are  very  seldom 
visible  to  the  eye,  except  in  the  cases  of  chilled  iron.  In 
castings  that  are  not  chilled,  the  lines  of  crystallization 
depend  upon  the  direction  in  which  the  heat  passes  off  the 
fastest,  and  with  the  least  resistance.  In  regard  to  this 
formation  of  crystals,  MALLET  observes:  "It  is  a  law  of  the 
molecular  aggregation  of  crystalline  solids,  that  when  their 
particles  consolidate  under  the  influence  of  heat  in  motion, 
their  crystals  arrange  and  group  themselves  with  their  prin- 
cipal axes,  in  lines  perpendicular  to  the  cooling  or  heating 
surfaces  of  the  solid." 

Sharp  angles,  corners,  projections,  and  squares,  combined 
in  castings,  cause  them  to  show  lines  of  crystallization  run 
in  different  directions  from  some  given  point,  and  this 
point,  from  which  the  lines  of  crystallization  connects, 
appears  like  a  rope  with  a  number  of  small  strings  tied  on 
it,  and  pulled  by  unseen  forces  in  two  opposite  directions. 
This  rope  or  section  of  the  casting,  from  which  all  these 
strings  or  lines  of  crystals  radiate,  is  the  weak  point  of  a 
casting,  and  there  are  very  few  castings  so  shaped  but  that 
many  such  weak  points  appear  in  them,  but  for  the  shape  no 
one  can  be  fairly  blamed.  The  moulder,  even  if  he  thor- 
oughly understands  the  problem  of  crystallization  of  differ- 
ent-shaped castings,  could  very  seldom  in  practice  cool  a 
casting  so  as  to  cause  the  crystals  to  radiate  in  lines,  strength- 
ening the  weak  points,  or  change  them  from  their  natural 


CONTRACTION   AND   CRACKING   OF  CASTINGS.         259 

course.  If  there  is  to  be  responsibility  placed  on  any  one, 
the  designer  of  castings  is  the  one  who  should  assume  the 
greater  portion  of  it.  But  since  he  cannot  always  have  a 
design  made  so  that  the  shape  of  a  casting  will  allow  the 
lines  of  crystallization  to  radiate,  and  thus  keep  them 
in  the  most  compact  form,  so  that  the  molecules  are  not 
separated  by  any  unnatural  forces,  we  should  be  very  careful 
how  we  censure  him.  These  few  remarks  here  upon  the 
crystallization  of  castings  are  given  to  cause  the  interested 
reader  to  think  and  see  what  a  great  field  there  is  before  us 
to  explore,  before  the  problem  of  cracking  and  crystalliza- 
tion of  castings  can  be  thoroughly  understood,  and  that  it 
is  a  subject  on  which  pages  might  be  written. 


260         FEEDING   AND   SHRINKAGE   OF   MELTED    IRON. 


FEEDING  AND  SHRINKAGE  OF  MELTED  IRON. 

THE  assertion  often  made  by  writers,  "  that  melted  cast 
iron  expands  at  the  moment  of  solidification,  so  as  to  copy 
exactly  every  line  of  the  mould  into  which  it  is  poured," 
always  sounded  to  me  very  odd.  The  word  "moment" 
would  imply  a  sudden  dividing  line  between  liquid  and  solid 
iron.  In  melting  iron  there  is  nothing  sudden  from  the 
time  it  leaves  the  melter's  hands  till  it  is  tapped  out  into  a 
ladle,  from  which  time  it  cools  gradually,  the  time  it  will 
take  to  cool  depending  on  the  shape  and  size  of  the  mould 
that  the  iron  is  poured  into.  The  amount  of  expansion  or 
shrinkage  will  be  according  to  the  grade  of  softness  or  hard- 
ness of  the  iron,  and  the  quality  of  the  ores  that  the  iron  is 
made  from. 

Soft  iron  is  open  grained*  and  when  melted  has  more  life 
than  hard  iron,  and  may  expand  some  in  cooling.  Hard 
iron  is  close  grained,  melts  quicker,  and  has  more  shrinkage 
than  soft  iron.  Melted  iron,  when  cooling,  cools  the  fastest 
at  the  bottom  of  the  mould  and  at  the  sides  and  cope  sur- 
faces, which  draws  molten  iron  from  the  hottest  or  cen- 
tral portion  to  supply  the  shrinkage  of  the  cooling  parts. 
If  this  central,  or  last  portion  of  the  iron  that  cools,  is 
not  reached  with  a  feeding  rod  and  hot  iron  to  supply  the 
shrinkage,  the  last  parts  to  cool  will  be  honeycombed  or 
hollow. 

There  are  often  castings  that  cause  explosions  or  breaks 
through  the  thickest,  and,  as  is  thought,  the  strongest  parts. 
One  cause  for  this  is  that  the  castings  were  not  fed  in  the 


FEEDING    AND   SHRINKAGE   OF   MELTED   IRON.          261 

right  manner.  There  are  often  castings  that  would  require 
a  half  dozen  feeding  heads  to  make  all  the  parts  solid,  and 
in  some  cases  the  designers  of  machinery  or  the  pattern 
makers  will  have  castings  disproportional,  so  that  the  thick 
portions  cannot  be  fed,  or  the  shrinkage  of  the  heavy  parts 
supplied  with  iron.  Such  parts  would  be  stronger  if  they 
were  made  lighter,  and  had  what  iron  there  was  solid,  rather 
than  heavy,  with  a  honeycombed  center. 

The  cut  X  shows  a  round  die  block  that  was  used  in  a 
lamp  manufactory  for  pressing  a  composition  of  metal. 
There  had  been  several  of  them  made,  but,  being  unsound, 
the  pattern  was  taken  to  another  shop.  When  the  pattern 
was  shown  to  me  and  the  trouble  explained,  the  first  question 
I  asked  was  if  there  had  been  a  large  feeding  head  used, 
and  if  they  were  fed  well  ?  I  was  answered  "  Yes."  Further 
questioning  showed  that  there  were  no  signs  of  dirt  or  holes 
until  the  casting  had  from  £"  to  I"  turned  off  it.  I  gave 
the  job  to  a  man  I  knew  was  not  afraid  of  a  hot  job,  and  saw 
that  he  got  hot  iron  when  wanted.  He  stuck  to  it  until  his 
rod  was  driven  up  into  the  feeding  head  by  solid  frozen  iron 
below  it,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  telling  him  that  his  casting 
was  the  best  and  solidest  the  machinist  had  ever  finished  up. 
What  the  machinist  called  dirt,  or  holes  in  the  bad  castings, 
was  only  honeycombed  or  porous  iron  caused  by  improper 
feeding.  One  moulder  will  feed  a  heavy  piece  of  casting  in 
half  the  time  another  will  take,  and  still,  to  all  outside  appear- 
ances, have  it  solid  ;  but  should  the  casting  be  cut  up  into 
small  pieces,  it  would  appear  that  he  did  not  feed  his  cast- 
ing solid,  as  the  iron  in  the  part  that  remained  hot  the 
longest  would  be  liable  to  show  holes  or  be  very  porous. 
Take,  for  example,  solid  castings  one  foot  in  diameter, 
and  let  them  be  cut  through  the  middle,  or  the  outside  all 
be  turned  off  until  they  become  balls  3"  in  diameter;  it  would 
be  safe  to  say  that  they  would  present  a  very  rotten  appear- 


262        FEEDING   AND   SHRINKAGE   OF   MELTED   IRON. 

ance,  that  is,  if  they  were  fed  as  solid  heavy  castings  are  gen- 
erally. The  length  of  time  that  it  will  take  for  some  liquid 
castings  to  become  solid  throughout  is  very  often  longer 
than  is  supposed,  and  in  many  cases  moulders  should  modify 
their  assertions  of  a  casting  being  fed  solid. 

In  setting  a  feeding  head  on  most  patterns  it  should,  if 
possible,  be  set  on  the  thickest  portion  of  the  casting, 
or  that  part  of  it  which  will  keep  the  longest  hot.  The 
feeding  head  should  be  of  such  size  that  ib  can  be  kept  open, 
with  hot  iron  until  the  casting  is  set.  In  starting  to  feed  a 
casting,  the  rod  should  be  put  in  slow  and  easy,  and  if  the 
mould  is  not  too  deep,  it  should  touch  the  bottom,  and  then 
be  raised  up  two  or  three  inches,  so  that  it  will  not  be  punch- 
ing holes  in  the  mould.  Some  moulders,  when  feeding, 
work  their  rod  up  and  down  in  the  center,  and  the  sides 
freeze  up  and  close  or  solidify  while  the  iron  in  the  mould 
is  yet  in  a  liquid  or  molten  state  ;  or  they  will  put  a  small 
feeder  on,  that  will  freeze  so  quickly  that  they  cannot  get  a 
rod  into  it,  or  if  they  do,  it  will  stick  fast,  and  then  they  will 
complain  of  some  one  for  not  bringing  hot  iron  when  wanted. 
A  moulder  should  seldom  make  this  excuse.  He  should  have 
the  feeding  rod  hot,  and  the  head  the  right  size ;  and 
instead  of  working  the  rod  in  the  center,  work  it  up  and 
down  around  the  sides,  so  that  the  freezing  iron  will  be 
pushed  or  worked  down  into  the  casting,  and  the  hotter 
iron  in  the  casting  worked  up  into  the  feeding  head.  This 
keeps  the  head  and  casting  at  the  same  temperature. 

When  you  do  get  hot  iron,  always  have  a  hole  worked  in 
the  head  to  hold  as  much  as  possible,  so  that  it  will  help  to 
cut  away  the  freezing  iron  on  the  side  of  the  head,  making 
the  iron  in  the  head  hotter  than  in  the  casting.  Put  in  hot 
iron  when  there  is  a  good  chance  to  get  it,  and  don't  call  for 
it  just  as  you  see. the  cupola  man  going  to  stop  the  cupola 
up,  or  do  some  other  as  sensible  trick,  as  putting  in  the  rod 


FEEDING   AND   SHRINKAGE   OF  MELTED   IRON.         263 


264         FEEDING   AND   SHRINKAGE  OF   MELTED   IRON. 

so  that  it  does  not  go  into  the  casting,  which  lets  the  neck  of 
the  feeder  freeze.  The  rod  should  be  kept  down  into  the 
casting,  and  let  the  iron  as  it  freezes  at  the  bottom  push  it 
up  out  of  the  casting. 

There  are  often  cases  where  the  iron  or  wooden  bars  of  a 
flask  will  not  admit  of  a  proper-sized  feeder.  In  such  cases 
where  the  bars  cannot  be  readily  widened,  the  feeder  should 
be  built  up  in  length,  to  make  up  for  the  loss  in  diameter. 
A  small  feeder  closes  quicker  and  takes  more  hot  iron  to 
keep  it  open  than  a  large  one.  Large  feeding  heads  require 
less  work  and  attention  than  small  ones.  With  feeders  10" 
and  upwards,  as  soon  as  the  casting  is  poured,  put  in  the 
feeding  rod  and  work  it  around  for  a  minute  or  two  to  work 
the  dirt  up  to  the  surface.  Then  take  the  iron  dipper,  as 
shown  at  Dt  of  which  a  shop  should  have  three  or  four  sizes — 
the  dished  part  being  about  2"  deeper  and  the  handles  about  4 
feet  long — and  dip  out  the  dirt  and  as  much  of  the  dull  iron 
as  is  necessary  to  make  room  for  one  or  two  hundred  pounds 
of  hot  iron.  Then  work  the  rod  to  mix  the  hot  and  dull 
iron,  and  throw  on  some  blacking  to  keep  in  the  heat. 
After  fastening  on  the  holder  H,  or  a  pair  of  blacksmith's 
tongs,  to  hold  up  the  rod,  the  moulder  can  rest  from  ten  to 
thirty  minutes,  occasionally  lifting  up  the  rod  to  see  how  the 
iron  is,  and  that  it  is  not  freezing  at  the  smallest  part  or  neck 
of  the  feeder.  As  soon  as  the  neck  shows  signs  of  closing  up 
work  the  rod  around  to  open  it  and  to  mix  the  iron,  after 
which  dip  out  some  of  the  dull  iron  and  pour  in  some  hot 
iron,  and  cover  again  with  blacking.  Repeat  this  operation 
until  the  iron  in  the  casting  commences  to  stick  to  the  rod, 
then  the  moulder  should  give  it  all  his  attention,  as  the 
neck  will  close  up  if  the  feeding  rod  is  not  kept  in  constant 
motion,  especially  if  the  iron  is  hard. 

I  was  at  one  time  foreman  of  a  shop  where  rolling-mill 
work  was  done.  The  proprietor  being  a  moulder,  and 


FEEDING   AND   SHRINKAGE   OF   MELTED   IRON. 

knowing  the  failings  of  some  moulders,  adopted  a  plan  of 
feeding  his  large  and  small  rolls  a  certain  length  of  time. 
Rolls  weighing  about  four  tons  he  would  only  allow  to  be  fed 
70  minutes.  It  made  no  difference  whether  they  were 
poured  hot  or  dull.  When  the  time  was  up  the  heads  would 
be  filled  with  hot  iron  and  the  rods  worked  to  open  the  neck, 
then  taken  out  and  the  iron  covered  with  blacking.  The 
plan  was  a  good  one  to  accomplish  the  desired  end. 

When  a  proprietor  or  foreman  thinks  that  he  has  no  men 
who  understand  feeding,  or  who  will  stick  to  a  hot  job,  the 
best  and  surest  plan  would  be  to  make  the  feeding  heads 
wilhout  a  neck  ;  that  is,  having  the  feeder  the  same  size 
at  the  bottom  as  at  the  top.  Then  let  the  head  be  cut  off 
in  the  lathe,  as  is  done  in  the  manufacture  of  cannon  or 
large  guns.  In  such  work  the  gun  is  cast  from  2  to  5  feet 
longer  than  wanted,  the  extra  length  answering  for  a  feeding 
head. 

In  writing  tnis  article,  the  subjects  chosen  are  castings 
that  cause  trouble  from  shrinkage,  and  are  good  ones  to  show 
the  principle  of  feeding  and  shrinkage. 

The  cut  P  shows  a  broken  pump  of  the  kind  used  on  a 
locomotive,  and  when  the  castings  were  bored  out  they 
would  be  porous  and  dirty  in  the  heavy  section.  To  remedy 
this  they  were  cast  in  dry  sand,  and  on  end,  but  with  no 
better  result.  The  thickness  of  iron  on  each  side  of  the 
heavy  part  is  only  |",  and  the  heavy  part  3"  thick.  My 
attention  was  called  to  the  job,  and  seeing  the  trouble,  I 
made  two  or  three  castings  in  green  sand,  and  with  a  feeder 
cut  into  the  heavy  section,  as  shown.  The  casting  bored 
out  solid  and  clean.  Casting  them  in  dry  sand,  and  on 
end,  would  not  make  the  thick  part  sound,  as  the  thin  part 
would  freeze  before  the  thick,  and  the  iron  to  supply  the 
shrinkage  would  have  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  upper  and 
hottest  portion  to  supply  the  shrinkage  below ;  so  that  in 
12 


266         FEEDING  AND  SHRINKAGE  OF  MELTED  IRON. 

boring  the  heavy  section  the  part  that  was  down  would  be 
solid,  and  the  upper  part  porous  or  honeycombed. 

I  have  often  seen  castings  go  out  of  the  foundry  that  were  re- 
quired to  stand  heavy  strains  or  pressures,  which,  if  the  party 
that  received  them  had  understood  the  feeding  of  melted 
iron  and  had  seen  them  fed,  would  never  have  been  accepted. 
It  is  not  altogether  ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  moulder, 
but  the  desire  to  get  rid  of  a  hard  and  hot  job,  that  is  the 
main  cause  of  ill-fed  castings.  There  are  very  few  heavy 
castings  that  are  fed  so  as  not  to  be  somewhat  porous.  In 
such  castings  as  levers,  etc.,  that  must  stand  strains  or 
blows,  the  point  or  section  of  the  castings  which  has  to 
stand  the  greatest  strain  is  not  generally  the  point  that 
feeders  should  be  put  at ;  it  is  better,  in  case  of  a  long  lever, 
for  instance,  to  set  the  feeding  head  at  one  end,  if  the  end 
or  portion  is  thick  enough  to  be  kept  in  a  liquid  or  molten 
state  as  long  as  the  heavier  parts  that  receive  no  hot  metal. 
Where  feeders  are  set  is  generally  a  point  of  weakness,  as  this 
point  is  not  the  same  grade  of  iron  ;  and  it  is  also  from  this 
point,  on  account  of  its  being  supplied  with  hot  feeding  iron, 
that  the  other  portions  of  the  casting  draw  iron  to  supply 
shrinkage  ;  and  if  the  greatest  of  care  and  judgment  is  not 
used  there  is  always  more  or  less  danger  of  there  being  a 
porousness  or  holes  below  feeding  heads,  thus  causing  that 
part  of  a  casting  to  be  weak.  Even  when  the  casting  has 
been  fed  perfectly  solid  and  compact,  the  mixture  of  a 
foreign  grade  of  iron  at  this  point  is  sufficient  to  cause  a 
weakness.  When  setting  feeders  on  a  pattern  the  moulder 
should  know  whether  the  casting  is  required  to  have  a  solid 
finish,  or  if  strength  is  required.  The  close  reader  and 
thinker  will  see  that  there  is  a  difference. 


BURNING   OR   MENDING   HEAVY   CASTINGS.  267 


BURNING  OR  MENDING  HEAVY  CASTINGS. 

THE  principle  employed  in  the  process  herein  described 
for  burning  a  new  neck  and  wabbler  upon  the  end  of  a 
broken  cast-iron  roll,  such  as  is  used  for  rolling  iron,  steel, 
and  other  ductile  metals,  may,  with  a  display  of  moderate 
skill  and  judgment,  be  practically  applied  for  burning  or 
mending  a  variety  of  heavy  broken  castings. 

The  object  of  this  process  is  in  mending  heavy  castings, 
to  avoid  the  expense  of  making  new  ones,  and,  if  properly 
performed,  it  is  very  economical,  and  will  save  much  time, 
labor,  and  expense. 

The  most  essential  points  to  be  observed  in  mending 
heavy  castings  by  this  process  are  as  follows  :  The  melted 
iron  must  be  very  hot,  and  of  a  medium  soft  quality,  for 
the  hard  iron  chills  quickly,  and  tlieref ore  does  not  perfectly 
cement  or  unite  with  the  broken  surface  of  the  casting. 

An  outlet  must  be  provided  to  allow  the  melted  iron  to 
escape  from  the  mould  as  soon  as  it  is  poured  in,  particu- 
larly at  first,  as  the  hot  metal  is  liable  to  chill.  The  hot 
metal  should  fall  directly  upon  the  surface  of  the  fracture, 
and,  after  beginning  to  pour,  a  uniform,  steady,  cutting 
stream  of  iron  should  be  kept  flowing  from  an  elevation  as 
high  as  possible.  In  burning  the  neck  and  wabbler  upon  a 
roll,  the  larger  the  roll  the  more  successful  will  be  the  opera- 
tion, on  account  of  the  larger  surface  for  the  melted  iron  to 
burn  or  cut  into,  thus  uniting  more  perfectly. 

As  a  preliminary  operation,  the  roll  might  be  made  as 
hot  as  possible  in  the  foundry  oven,  after  which  it  should 


268  BURNING  OR  MENDING  HEAVY   CASTINGS. 

be  lowered  into  a  hole  previously  dug  in  the  foundry  floor, 
keeping  the  broken  end  even  with  the  level  of  the  floor,  as 
shown  in  the  engraving  upon  page  269,  after  which  the  hole 
should  be  quickly  filled  with  sand,  rammed  up  solid,  par- 
ticularly around  the  top  of  the  roll.  The  surface  of  the 
fracture  should  be  chipped  all  over,  so  as  to  break  the  skin 
of  the  metal  and  remove  the  rust. 

The  wabbler  and  neck  must  be  moulded  in  dry  sand,  for 
if  made  in  green  sand  the  falling  melted  iron  would  cut  the 
moulds  all  to  pieces.  These  moulds  should  be  made  in  sec- 
tions, as  shown  in  the  illustration,  where  2  represents  the 
mould  for  the  neck,  and  3  the  mould  for  the  wabbler, 
while  4  is  for  the  riser  or  feeding  head. 

The  flask  2  has  three  places  cut  out  at  the  bottom  edge, 
Af  B,  C,  which  are  for  openings  to  allow  the  melted  iron  to 
freely  escape  while  the  neck  is  being  burnt  on.  As  soon  as 
the  roll  has  been  securely  placed,  the  flask  2  should  be  put 
in  position,  care  being  observed  to  keep  the  opening  for  the 
neck  exactly  in  the  center  of  the  roll,  to  allow  for  turning 
up  the  journal  in  a  lathe.  Pigs  of  iron  or  other  suitable 
heavy  weights  should  be  placed  upon  the  handles  X,  X,  to 
hold  down  the  flask.  If  an  air  furnace  is  used  in  the 
foundry,  three  basins  should  be  formed,  one  opposite  each 
of  the  openings  A,  B,  C,  to  catch  the  waste  iron;  but  if  there 
is  no  air  furnace  at  hand,  then  a  pig  bed  should  be  made, 
throwing  the  spare  sand  around  the  joint  between  the  roll 
and  flask,  so  that  there  can  be  no  run-out.  The  sand 
should  be  cleaned  away  from  the  outlets,  and  runners  made 
leading  to  the  places  formed  for  catching  the  waste  iron. 
Sometimes,  if  there  is  a  mould  that  can  stand  pouring  with 
dull  iron,  a  ladle  may  be  sunk  down  into  the  floor  to  catch 
and  save  the  iron.  If  the  iron  should  be  likely  to  run  upon 
the  face  of  the  roll  at  the  outlets,  it  should  be  smeared  with 
oil  at  those  points  to  prevent  the  melted  metal  from  adher- 


BURNING  OR   MENDING   HEAVY   CASTINGS.  269 


PROCESS  OF   MENDING   HEAVY   CASTINGS. 


270  BURNING   OR  MENDING   HEAVY    CASTINGS. 

ing  to  it.  In  commencing  to  pour  the  iron,  the  ladle 
should  be  held  very  low,  and  then  gradually  raising  the 
ladle  until  the  metal  will  have  a  fall  of  about  four  feet. 
The  ladle  is  supposed  to  be  handled  by  a  requisite  number 
of  men  not  shown.  The  man  in  charge  of  the  process  can 
easily  ascertain  if  there  are  any  places  upon  the  surface  of 
the  fracture  where  the  melted  metal  is  not  cutting,  by 
means  of  the  bent  rod  Z>,  and  have  the  molten  stream  di- 
rected upon  those  places.  Some  small  pieces  of  tin  or  zinc 
should  be  kept  at  hand,  and  by  constantly  throwing  them 
into  the  mould  the  iron  in  the  holes  that  are  burnt  is  there- 
by made  hotter  than  it  would  be  otherwise. 

The  iron  should  be  poured  until  only  about  five  hundred 
pounds  remain  in  the  ladle;  the  openings,  A,B,C,  should 
then  be  stopped  with  a  stopping  stick  and  clay ;  then  fill 
the  neck  neatly  full  of  metal. 

A  protecting  ring,  not  shown  (which  is  a  thin  plate  of 
metal,  having  a  hole  in  the  center,  the  same  size  as  the 
neck,  and  is  placed  on  top  of  the  flask  to  prevent  the  falling 
stream  of  hot  iron  from  cutting  away  the  edge  of  the 
mould),  should  be  lifted  off  at  once  by  means  of  handles  at- 
tached to  it ;  then  skim  off  all  the .  dirt  and  slag  from  the 
surface  of  the  metal,  after  which  the  wabbler  mould  3 
should  be  quickly  placed  upon  the  flask  2,  and  the  feeding 
head  4  upon  the  top  of  the  flask  3.  These  flasks  should  be 
securely  held  by  placing  heavy  weights  upon  the  top,  after 
which  the  mould  should  be  quickly  filled  and  fed  with 
metal  until  it  solidifies.  If  the  neck  has  been  burned  suc- 
cessfully, the  old  or  original  neck  will  generally  be  the  first 
to  break.  In  regard  to  the  amount  of  iron  necessary  to 
complete  the  operation  described,  I  may  say  that  it  depends 
entirely  upon  the  nature  of  the  casting  to  be  mended. 
For  a  roll  weighing  from  5,000  to  7,000  pounds,  it  will  take 
about  1,800  pounds  for  burning  on  wabblers  or  neck,  while 


BURNING  OR  MENDING  HEAVY  CASTINGS.  271 

on  small  rolls,  about  1,200  pounds  of  metal  will  be  required. 
The  cost  of  the  process  is  comparatively  small,  and  saves 
the  trouble  and  expense  of  turning  up  a  new  roll,  besides 
effecting  a  great  saving  in  time,  which  is  a  very  essential 
point  in  rolling  mills. 


CHILLED   CAST-IRQ]*   CASTINGS. 


CHILLED  CAST-IRON  CASTINGS. 

THE  surface  part  of  a  casting  that  is  wanted  to  retain  a 
certain  shape,  size,  and  smoothness,  and  to  withstand  a  con- 
stant wear  and  tear,  can,  in  most  cases,  be  chilled  when  cast 
by  having  iron  to  form  the  shape  instead  of  sand.  The  iron 
mould  or  chill,  when  made  of  cast  iron,  should  be  of  the  best 
strong  iron,  having  very  little  contraction,  as  the  sudden 
heating  of  the  surface  by  the  melted  iron  is  liable  to  crack 
it,  or  in  a  short  time  the  face  will  be  full  of  small  cracks  or 
raised  blisters.  When  melted  gray  iron  is  poured  around  or 
against  the  surface  of  solid  iron,  it  is  chilled  from  I"  to  1"  in 
depth,  depending  on  the  hardness  and  closeness  of  the  iron  the 
mould  is  poured  with.  In  order  to  chill  this  iron  as  deep  as 
1-J"  and  upward,  there  must  be  some  cast  steel  or  white  iron 
melted  with  it  in  the  cupola.  The  proportion  will  depend  on 
the  quality  of  the  iron  and  steel  used.  Steel  borings  can  be  put 
into  the  ladles  and  let  the  hot  iron  mix  with  them  ;  but  the 
best  plan  is  to  have  some  old  steel  castings,  or  pieces  of  steel 
rails,  and  melt  them  in  the  cupola,  and  when  the  iron  is  in  the 
ladle,  mix  or  stir  the  metal  with  a  large  rod.  With  strong, 
close  iron,  about  one  part  of  steel  to  five  parts  of  iron  will 
cause  a  chill  of  1  £".  Iron  for  making  chilled  castings  should 
be  strong,  as  chilling  iron  impairs  its  strength.  An  iron  that 
contracts  very  little  in  cooling  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
in  keeping  chilled  castings  from  checking  or  cracking. 

I  had  reason  at  one  time  for  studying  the  cause  of  chilled 
castings  being  bad.  I  was  working  in  a  shop  where  they 
made  some  small  chilled  rolls,  about  10"  in  diameter  and 


vr 

CHILLED   CAST-IRON   CASTINGS.  C/4[_!$73 

14"  long.  The  thickness  of  chill  for  chilling  the  roll  was 
3£".  The  top  and  bottom  necks  and  wabblers  were  moulded 
in  dry  sand.  The  job  was  given  to  me,  and  I  moulded  and 
cast  three  at  a  heat.  Out  of  the  first  three  there  was  only 
one  good  one,  and  I  was  told  that  I  was  lucky  at  that,  and 
that  the  proprietors  would  give  a  good  deal  if  they  could 
make  their  own  rolls,  as  they  had  to  send  away  and  pay  a 
heavy  price  for  them. 

These  rolls  had  to  be  chilled  1  £"  deep,  as  there  were  grooves 
turned  in  them  for  rolling  bar  iron,  and  when  the  grooves 
got  worn  out  of  true  they  were  turned  again.  After  study- 
ing the  trouble  over,  I  cast  three  more  with  good  results, 
and  from  that  on  there  was  no  more  trouble  with  them. 

Melted  iron,  when  poured  inside  of  a  chill,  similar  to  a 
roll  or  car-wheel  chill,  cools  and  forms  a  shell  in  a  very  short 
time,  the  thickness  of  which  will  depend  on  the  hardness 
and  temperature  of  the  iron.  In  small  rolls  and  wheels 
it  is  during  the  course  of  the  first  two  or  three  minutes  that 
the  checking  or  cracking  generally  takes  place  ;  for  as  soon 
as  melted  iron  commences  to  freeze,  it  starts  to  contract 
more  or  less,  and  as  the  shell  thus  formed  becomes  cool,  or 
half  molten,  it  contracts,  so  that  the  contracting  shell  has 
to  stand,  or  hold  in  the  pressure  of  the  liquid  iron  inside. 
Should  the  mould  not  be  dead  level,  the  inside  liquid  metal 
will  have  the  most  pressure  at  the  lowest  point  of  the  shell, 
and  will  cause  this  part  to  burst  open.  A  check  or  crack 
never  starts  at  the  top  part  of  a  mould,  but  always  at  the 
bottom,  and  if  you  look  closely  at  one  of  these  cracks  you 
will  see  it  is  the  largest  at  the  bottom  and  running  up  to 
nothing.  In  some  cases  you  can  see  where  the  inside  liquid 
iron  has  flowed  out,  and  partly  filled  up  the  crack. 

I  have  often  asked  car- wheel  moulders  why  it  was  they 
cooled  their  iron  to  a  certain  temperature,  and  they  would 
answer  :  Because  it  keeps  the  wheels  from  cracking.  Some 


274  CHILLED   CAST-IKON   CASTINGS. 

days,  when  they  would  have  three  or  four  wheels  cracked, 
when  asked  what  was  the  matter,  they  would  say  that  the 
melter  did  not  mix  his  iron  right.  So  far  as  mixing  the 
iron  is  concerned,  it  will  stand  a  deal  of  excuses  ;  but  it  is  a 
poor  excuse  for  a  moulder  to  put  the  blame  on  the  melter 
for  three  or  four  bad  wheels  out  of  a  heat  of  sixteen.  I 
think  if  he  would  make  a  straight-edge  that  would  reach 
across  the  top  and  come  down  on  to  the  turned  level  face  of 
the  chill,  and  then  level  his  flasks,  instead  of  dumping  them 
in  any  shape,  the  poor  melter  would  not  get  blamed  so  much 
as  he  does  for  cracked  wheels. 

In  making  chilled  rolls  the  temperature  of  the  iron  is  as 
important  a  point  as  it  is  in  the  manufacture  of  car-wheels. 
The  iron  should  be  poured  dull,  for  the  duller  the  iron  the 
quicker  is  the  outside  shell  formed,  thereby  offering  a 
stronger  resistance  to  the  pressure  of  the  inside  liquid  iron. 
Of  course,  the  moulder  must  use  his  judgment  in  cooling 
off  the  iron,  for  if  too  dull  the  face  of  the  chilled  part  will 
be  cold  shut,  and  look  dirty.  The  rolls  should  be  poured 
quickly  at  the  bottom  neck  and  the  gates  cut,  so  as  to  whirl 
the  iron  and  keep  all  dirt  in  the  center  and  away  from  the 
face  of  the  chill. 

When  the  mould  is  full  and  the  iron  seems  to  require 
feeding,  from  the  way  the  feeding  head  is  made,  do  not  put 
in  the  feeding  rod  until  the  neck  is  about  to  freeze  up. 
"When  you  do  put  it  in,  don't  ram  it  down  suddenly,  so  as  to 
cause  a  pressure  on  the  contracting  shell,  which  would  be 
liable  to  crack  it.  When  feeding,  work  the  rod  slowly.  In 
Pittsburgh,  a  great  center  for  the  manufacture  of  chilled 
rolls,  they  do  not  feed  their  rolls  at  all.  The  feeding 
heads  are  made  long,  without  a  neck  on  them  ;  they  are 
made  the  full  size  of  the  wabblers,  and  then  cut  off  in  the 
lathe.  In  pouring  the  rolls  the  iron  is  taken  from  an  air 
furnace  into  a  large  ladle,  and,  after  being  cooled  to  the  re- 


CHILLED   CAST-IROtf   CASTINGS.  275 

quired  temperature,  the  iron  is  poured  into  the  moulds  by 
basins  that  are  made  very  large,  so  as  to  be  able  to  keep  the 
dirt  out  and  have  the  iron  go  in  fast.  As  soon  as  the  mould 
is  filled  to  the  top  of  the  wabbler  the  pouring  is  stopped,  and 
then  the  balance  of  the  feeding  head  is  filled  up  with  hot 
iron,  carried  in  hand-ladles  from  the  cupola.  Some  of  the 
large-sized  rolls  have  feeder  heads  from  three  up  to  four  feet 
long  cast  on  them.  The  heads  are  made  nearly  the  size  of 
the  body  of  the  roll,  from  3"  or  4"  above  the  top  of  the 
wabbler  up  to  the  top  of  the  head.  As  soon  as  the  heads  are 
filled  up  with  iron,  they  can  then  be  covered  with  sand,  and 
they  will  then  feed  the  casting  without  any  further  handling. 

It  is  better  to  make  the  chills  hot  by  heating  them  in 
the  oven,  the  iron  will  lay  closer  and  make  a  smoother  cast- 
ing against  a  hot  chill  than  when  poured  against  a  cold 
one. 

By  having  the  mould  dead  level  the  pressure  will  be  equal 
all  around.  Whenever  there  is  a  check  or  crack,  it  is  caused 
by  unequal  pressure  of  the  confined  liquid  metal  against  the 
contracting  shell ;  and,  whether  some  moulders  believe  it 
beneficial  or  not,  to  have  a  chill  mould  level,  when  being 
cast,  they  will  acknowledge  that  when  a  chilled  casting 
checks  or  cracks,  the  point  which  is  thus  cracked  must 
have  had  the  greatest  amount  of  pressure  upon  it,  and, 
although  castings  are  well  cast  with  moulds  not  level,  the 
worst  cases  would  be  less  if  the  moulds  were  leveled. 


276  MAKING   CHILLED   CASTINGS   SMOOTH. 


MAKING  CHILLED  CASTINGS  SMOOTH. 

To  make  chilled  castings  without  having  them  streaked  or 
cold  shut  is  a  very  important  feature,  and  one  that  has  caused 
a  deal  of  trouble  in  certain  classes  of  work,  such  as  anvil  or 
die  blocks,  which  are  usually  cast  with  the  chill  lying  hori- 
zontally. When  the  moulder  pours  his  mould  he  will  start 
slow  and  easy,  being  afraid  of  spilling  the  iron  or  cutting 
the  runner  ;  and,  when  the  casting  comes  out,  it  will  not 
have  a  smooth  face.  The  excuse  will  be  dull  iron,  or  the 
men  did  not  stand  still,  or  did  not  hoist  the  crane  when  told 
to  do  so,  or  something  else.  "He  is  a  poor  moulder  who 
cannot  make  a  good  excuse,"  is  thought  to  be  a  good  adage 
among  moulders,  and  I  think  it  is,  too ;  for  there  are  some 
moulders  who  would  not  sleep  two  nights  in  the  week  if  they 
thought  their  excuses  were  discredited.  In  point  of  fact,  it 
is  more  consoling  to  the  mind  to  frame  an  excuse  than  it  is  to 
study  the  cause  and  find  the  fault  is  in  our  own  ignorance. 

Whenever  a  moulder  has  trouble  with  his  work,  he  should 
study  the  cause  before  making  the  piece  the  second  time. 
Any  moulder  who  follows  this  plan  knows  its  value,  not  only 
in  making  good  work,  but  in  enabling  him  to  understand 
cause  and  effect,  and  the  principles  of  his  trade. 

In  studying  a  plan  for  making  flat  chilled  faces  smooth,  I 
made  the  runner  and  gates  large  ;  and  if  a  crane  ladle  were 
used,  the  basin  should  be  made  large,  and  the  top  of  the 
runner  have  an  iron  cone  plug  (as  shown  at  W,  page  163) 
to  close  it  up ;  and,  when  the  basin  is  about  full  of  iron, 
lift  up  this  plug,  and  in  goes  the  iron  with  a  rush,  and 


MAKING   CHILLED   CASTINGS   SMOOTH. 

immediately  covers  over  the  face  or  surface  of  the  chill  with 
a  body  sufficient  to  keep  down  any  tendency  of  the  iron  to 
boil,  which  is  caused  by  hot  iron  coming  in  contact  with 
cold.  When  iron  is  poured  so  as  to  run  into  the  mould  as 
it  first  comes  from  the  ladle,  the  bottom  is  covered  slowly, 
and  the  casting  is  generally  sure  to  look  streaked  and  dirty 
on  the  face. 

There  are  blocks  and  dies  cast  flat  that  could  be  cast  on  a 
slant,  or  perpendicularly,  thus  causing  the  iron  as  it  is  poured 
to  cover  or  rise  on  the  face  of  the  chill  in  a  body.  When 
iron  is  poured  or  run  so  that  it  immediately  covers  any  section 
of  the  chill  that  it  strikes,  there  is  very  little  danger  of  the 
casting  being  cold  shut  or  streaked,  unless  it  should  be  caused 
from  using  a  new  chill  or  one  that  has  not  been  used  for  some 
time,  or  from  the  effect  of  bad  oil  or  too  much  of  it.  It  is 
always  best  to  take  new  chills,  or  those  that  have  been  lying 
idle,  and  pour  some  melted  iron  on  or  in  them  to  heat  them 
before  they  are  wanted.  This  will  burn  off  any  rust  or  scale 
that  may  have  collected  on  them.  When  oil  is  used  for  rub- 
bing the  face  of  a  chill  it  should  be  light  and  clear,  and  very 
little  should  be  used.  When  too  much  oil,  or  when  black, 
heavy  oil  is  used,  it  burns  when  the  hot  iron  comes  in  contact 
with  it,  forming  a  heavy  gas  that  will  throw  the  iron  back 
from  the  face  of  the  chill,  and  cause  it  to  bubble  and  boil, 
and  to  generate  a  dirty  scum  that  will  mix  with  the  iron  and 
make  the  face  of  the  casting  look  dirty.  Whenever  I  use  oil 
for  this  purpose  I  use  coal  oil,  as  it  is  light,  and,  I  think,  the 
best.  The  use  of  oil  on  the  chills  is  to  preserve  them  and 
keep  the  hot  iron  from  cementing  or  cutting  into  them.  On 
castings  that  the  iron  as  it  runs  into  the  mould  does  not 
strike  the  face  of  the  chill,  you  will  often  get  a  smoother 
face  by  not  using  any  oil  at  all,  provided  the  chill  is  in  con- 
stant use. 

The  proper  temperature  of  the  iron  when  poured  will  de- 


278        MAKING  CHILLED  CASTINGS  SMOOTH. 

pend  on  various  circumstances,  and  the  moulder  must  use 
his  judgment  in  this  respect.  This  temperature  has  much 
to  do  in  many  instances  with  the  checking  or  cracking  of 
castings,  so  that  in  pouring  them  with  hot  iron,  while  the 
prospect  of  getting  a  smooth  face  may  be  better,  the  danger 
of  losing  the  casting  from  checking  will  be  materially  in- 
creased. In  the  instance  of  heavy  castings,  there  is  also  a 
liability  that  the  iron,  if  too  hot,  will  eat  into  the  face  of  the 
chill  and  unite  it  to  the  casting. 


SPLITTING   PULLEYS   AND   OTHEK   CASTINGS.  279 


SPLITTING    PULLEYS    AND    OTHER 
CASTINGS. 

IT  is  often  necessary  to  cast  pulleys,  gear-wheels,  fly- 
wheels, etc.,  whole,  and  split  them  in  halves  after  casting, 
for  convenience  in  handling  or  fastening  to  a  shaft.  The 
splitting  of  such  castings  has  not  always  been  a  success, 
from  the  effects  of  which  both  moulders  and  machinists 
have  been  annoyed.  There  are  several  ways  of  splitting 
such  castings,  and  what  would  be  good  for  one  style  would 
not  do  for  another.  I  have  seen  wrought-iron  plates  set  in 
the  mould  to  split  heavy  and  light  castings,  and  although 
the  plates  were  painted  with  blacking,  coal-tar,  oil,  or  rosin, 
the  iron  would  eat  into  them,  so  that  in  trying  to  split  the 
casting  it  would  be  broken,  or  it  would  take  much  time  and 
labor  to  split  it.  A  plan  that  I  found  to  work  successfully 
for  such  castings,  was  to  use  two  plates  instead  of  one,  and 
if  it  is  preferable  to  have  the  plates  stick  to  the  casting,  so 
that  in  fitting  together  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  handle 
loose  plates,  it  would  be  better  not  to  paint  them  at  all.  If 
it  is  thought  the  iron  will  not  adhere  to  the  plates,  holes 
may  be  drilled  nearly  through  them,  from  the  sides  against 
which  the  iron  will  run  ;  or  the  holes  may  be  drilled  quite 
through,  if  care  is  taken  that  they  do  not  come  opposite 
each  other  in  the  two  plates.  This  plan  will  make  a  sure 
thing  of  splitting  a  casting  without  any  trouble,  and  when 
the  casting  is  placed  together  again,  it  will  generally  be  the 
same  circle  or  shape  that  it  was  before  it  was  divided,  and 
without  any  fitting  on  the  part  of  the  machinist.  In  using 


280  SPLITTING   PULLEYS   AND   OTHEK   CASTINGS. 

these  plates,  if  the  casting  requires  them  to  be  very  long, 
there  might  be  trouble  caused  by  their  expansion  and  con- 
traction ;  if  they  are  required  to  be  over  two  feet  long,  they 
could  be  used  by  having  the  plates  made  in  short  sections, 
so  as  to  be  set  into  a  mould.  For  some  classes  of  work  cast- 
iron  plates,  made  the  required  shape  and  size,  might  be  pre- 
ferred, as  the  iron  will  adhere  to  them  better,  and  be  less 
liable  to  show  the  joint.  There  are  moulds  in  which  the 
double  plates  cannot  be  made  to  stand  up  together.  In 
such  cases  the  two  plates  may  be  fastened  together  with  two 
small  rivets  near  their  ends,  so  that  they  can  be  easily 
opened.  The  accompanying  cut  represents  the  plan  and 
elevation  of  a  split  pulley,  and  shows  a  good  way  of  using 
cores  for  splitting  a  casting,  so  that  when  put  together 
there  will  be  no  fitting  required.  There  are  very  few  jobs 
that  the  foundry  man  dislikes  more  than  splitting  pulleys 
from  whole  patterns.  Whether  they  are  made  from  a  draw 
or  a  split  pattern  makes  very  little  difference.  Not  many 
years  back  it  was  thought  a  great  favor  to  get  a  pulley  cast 
in  halves.  Nowadays  they  are  ordered  the  same  as  other 
castings,  and,  as  a  rule,  they  are  expected  at  the  same  price  as 
plain  pulleys,  although  it  takes  about  twice  as  long  to  make 
them.  I  have  said  to  parties,  "I  can  show  you  some  nice 
split  patterns,  just  the  size  you  want  every  way,"  and  their 
answer  would  be,  ( ( 0,  I  guess  you  had  better  make  them 
from  the  whole  pattern,  and  split  them,  as  it  will  save  me 
time  in  planing  and  fitting. "  Of  course  the  result  would 
be  they  must  be  made  as  wanted,  or  the  custom  of  the  par- 
ties lost  to  the  foundry.  Having  split  pulleys  in  almost 
every  way,  I  think  the  plan  as  herewith  shown  to  be  good. 
The  hub  of  the  pulley  shows  a  lug,  X,  X,  on  each  side.  A 
core  from  J"  to  f  "  thick  cuts  through  the  top  and  bottom. 
The  iron  at  the  edges  of  the  core  should  be  of  a  thickness 
to  crack  open  easily,  and  still  have  bearing  enough  to  hold 


SPLITTING   PULLEYS   AND   OTHER   CASTINGS. 


281 


the  joints  strong  when  bolted  together  to  be  turned  and 
bored  out.  There  are  two  styles  of  lugs,  or  ears,  shown  on 
the  rim  for  bolting 
the  halves  together. 
The  round,  separate 
lugs  B,  B}  are  made 
in  a  core  box,  and 
when  ramming  up 
the  pulley,  set  the 
dry  sand  lug  core 
against  the  pattern, 
and  ram  them  up. 
The  opposite  lug  is 
made  with  a  piece 
of  pattern  with  core 
print  on  the  bottom, 
to  set  in  the  long, 
flat  core,  as  shown 
at  D.  This  splitting 
core  D  is  sometimes 
run  half-way  into 
the  rim  of  the  pul- 
ley, in  the  form  of 
a  sharp  V  ;  this  will  make  the  splitting  of  the  rim  easier. 
This  latter  form  of  lug  is  used  for  light  and  heavy  pulleys. 
In  splitting  these  pulleys  the  job  is  generally  left  to  the 
machinist,  and  I  think  the  best  plan  is  to  split  them  open 
before  boring  or  turning,  as  the  chisel  marks  can  then  be 
all  turned  out,  and  a  truer  pulley  made  than  by  splitting 
after  finishing. 


P 


=0= 


— O- 


282  STRAIGHTENING   CROOKED   CASTINGS. 


STRAIGHTENING   CKOOKED   CASTINGS. 

"  WHICH  way  will  my  casting  go  ?"  is  a  question  that  is 
often  asked.  To  answer  this  question  correctly  every  time 
would  be  a  very  hard  task.  The  moulder  may  be  very  well 
versed  in  the  cooling  and  contraction  of  castings,  but  some- 
times a  complicated  piece  will  come  along  that  will  puzzle 
him.  In  some  castings  the  sooner  some  of  the  parts  are 
cooled  the  less  liability  there  is  of  the  casting  being  crooked, 
while  again  there  are  others  that  require  to  be  cooled  from 
some  certain  temperature. 

There  are  two  reasons  for  castings  warping.  The  first  is 
ill-proportioned  thickness ;  the  second,  the  allowing  of  some 
parts  to  cool  before  others.  To  these  a  third  reason  might 
be  added,  viz.,  the  quality  of  the  iron.  Bad  proportion  is, 
perhaps,  the  chief  cause  for  warped  castings. 

The  two  sketches  illustrate  the  straightening  of  a  crooked 
casting,  and  also  how  gates  and  runners  often  make  castings 
crooked. 

Castings  for  house  work  give  trouble  from  warping,  as 
they  are  generally  light  and  long.  When  the  thickness  of 
metal  in  a  column  is  not  equal,  the  thin  side  will  generally 
cool  first,  and  draw  the  thicker  side  toward  it,  thereby  mak- 
ing the  thin  side  of  the  column  concave  and  the  thick  side 
convex.  And  the  thick  side  being  the  last  to  cool,  will 
often  draw  it  back,  thereby  leaving  the  casting,  when  cold, 
concave  on  the  thick  side.  A  variation  of  Ty  in  thickness 
is  often  enough  to  make  a  column  crooked.  When  care  is 
not  taken  to  have  the  thickness  equal  and  the  core  well 


STRAIGHTENING    CROOKED   CASTINGS. 


283 


anchored,  crooked  columns  may  be  looked  for.     Cores  that 
are  made  in  half-core  boxes,   and  then  pasted   together, 
should  always  be  calipered  before  setting  the  bottom  chap- 
lets,   to  see   if  they 
are   round.     Should 
the  core  be  found  to 
be    flat    or    out   of 
round,  the  difference 
should    be     divided 
between  the  top  and 
bottom  chaplets. 

Moulders  will 
sometimes  set  a  flat 
core  on  the  bottom 
prints,  allowing  for 
no  variation,  and 
when  the  cope  is  set 
on  there  will  be,  per- 
haps, more  thickness 
of  iron  on  the  cope 
than  on  the  bottom 
side.  If  questioned 
about  this  by  the 
foreman,  they  will 
answer  that  the  core- 
maker  should  have 
made  his  core  round 
instead  of  flat.  This 
is  all  true  enough  ; 
but  as  it  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  very 
few  cores  are  pasted 
together  so  as  to  be  exactly  round,  like  a  core  that  is  swept 
up  with  loam  or  green  sand,  the  moulder  should  always 


! 


§ 


284  STRAIGHTENING   CROOKED   CASTINGS. 

caliper  them,  and  then  the  pattern,  and  set  the  chaplets 
accordingly. 

There  are  also  many  house-castings,  such  as  lintels  and 
ornamental  work,  that  are  troublesome  from  having  flanges 
and  ribs,  for  the  purpose  of  strengthening  them  and  saving 
iron  in  the  main  casting.  The  flanges  or  ribs  are  usually 
either  thinner  or  thicker  than  the  main  casting.  It  can 
only  be  told  how  a  flange  or  rib  will  draw  a  casting  in  the 
case  of  a  special  pattern  ;  that  is,  no  general  rule  can  be 
given.  The  same  shaped  flange  or  rib  attached  to  different- 
proportioned  castings  will  not  make  the  castings  all  draw  in 
the  same  direction.  Although  it  is  mainly  flanges  and  ribs 
that  are  the  cause  of  many  castings  bending  into  all  kind  of 
shapes,  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  main 
casting  is  just  as  much  responsible.  Either  (the  flanges 
and  ribs  or  the  main  casting)  could  generally  be  cast  sepa- 
rately and  come  straight.  In  all  cases  the  thick  side  of 
castings  does  not  require  cooling.  Sometimes  columns  can 
be  made  thicker  on  the  cope  side,  and  this  thickness  be  the 
means  of  preventing  the  casting  from  being  crooked,  in  the 
bottom  the  iron  is  there  the  closest  grained  and  soundest, 
while  the  upper  surface  is  more  porous  and  contains  most 
all  the  dirt,  which  allows  the  heat  to  escape  much  faster, 
the  cope  covering  of  sand  offering  but  little  resistance  to  it. 
The  cope  surface  of  a  casting  generally  cools  the  fastest, 
especially  when  the  copes  are  shallow.  Before  endeavoring 
to  cool  a  casting,  we  should  consider  the  greater  amount  of 
heat  lost  by  the  upper  portion  than  lost  by  the  bottom  part. 

About  all  that  can  be  said  as  regards  the  cooling  of  ill- 
proportioned  castings,  to  keep  them  straight,  is  :  cool  the 
thick  part  and  'keep  the  thin  part  hot,  so  as  to  have  the  same 
temperature  in  each  portion.  Keeping  all  parts  of  the  same 
temperature,  their  contraction  will  be  uniform.  There  are 
castings  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  cool  so  as  to  keep 


STRAIGHTENING   CROOKED   CASTINGS.  285 

straight,  on  account  of  their  ill  proportions;  and  should 
we  by  good  management  do  so,  we  run  the  risk  of  having 
them  crack  sooner  or  later,  as  there  is  sure  to  be  a  strain 
somewhere,  because  a  thin  body  of  iron  will  contract  in 
cooling  more  than  a  thick  body. 

With  castings  in  which  a  strong  artificial  cooling  treat- 
ment has  to  be  resorted  to,  to  make  them  come  straight,  it 
is  best  when  possible  to  have  the  pattern  made  crooked  to 
compensate  for  the  warping  when  cooling.  This  is  very 
often  done  in  the  case  of  castings  that  always  warp  one  way. 
But  there  are  castings  in  which  this  would  be  impossible, 
because  they  twist  into  all  kind  of  shapes,  one  day  being 
one  way  and  the  next  day  some  other  shape,  and  so  on. 
About  the  best  thing  that  can  be  done  with  such  castings  is 
to  make  them  of  iron,  of  the  least  possible  contraction.  If 
iron  could  be  had  that  had  no  shrinkage  qualities,  we 
would  not  be  troubled  much  with  crooked  castings. 

Weighting  down  the  ends  or  the  middle  of  long,  heavy, 
or  light  castings,  is  very  often  done  to  keep  them  straight. 
Sometimes  the  weights  are  sufficient  to  hold  the  casting 
straight  without  having  to  resort  to  any  cooling  process, 
and  again  it  is  necessary  to  weight  them  down  and  cool 
them  as  well.  It  is  sometimes  better,  when  possible,  to 
weight  a  casting  down  than  to  try  to  straighten  it  by  cool- 
ing. I  have  seen  long  awning  castings  go  so  crooked  that 
it  was  necessary  to  take  them  out  of  the  mould,  lay  each 
end  on  some  pig  iron  and  weight  down  the  middle  so  as  to 
bend  it  down  more  than  an  inch  below  a  straight  line,  the 
bending  being  done  the  reverse  of  the  way  that  it  naturally 
crooked  or  warped.  This  was  done  as  soon  as  possible  after 
the  casting  was  poured,  so  as  to  bend  it  while  red  hot. 
When  the  castings  had  cooled  and  the  weights  were  taken 
off  they  came  up  straight. 

Often  moulders  will  weight  down  the  ends  of  a  casting, 


286  STRAIGHTENING   CROOKED   CASTINGS. 

and  shovel  the  sand  from  the  top  in  the  middle  in  order  to 
keep  the  ends  of  the  casting  from  coming  up.  This  is 
wrong,  for  by  cooling  the  middle  on  the  top  side  this  part 
is  contracted  quicker  than  the  under  side,  which  will  natur- 
ally cause  the  ends  to  come  up  if  the  weights  are  not  heavy 
enough  to  hold  them  down.  If  the  moulder  is  trying  to 
hold  down  the  ends  of  his  casting,  it  would  look  more  as  if 
he  understood  what  he  was  doing  to  dig  underneath  the 
middle  of  the  casting  so  as  to  cool  it,  which,  by  causing  the 
castings  to  contract  there,  will  help  the  weights  instead  of 
working  against  them. 

If  the  under  side  cannot  be  got  at,  it  would  be  better  to 
put  on  more  weights,  and  instead  of  cooling  the  middle  on 
top,  leave  it  well  covered  over  with  sand,  so  as  to  keep  it 
hot.  It  should  always  be  remembered,  that  removing  the 
sand  from  any  part  of  a  hot  casting  cools  it ;  and  that  cool- 
ing any  portion  of  a  hot  casting  causes  it  to  contract  the 
faster.  Also  that  before  one  side  can  contract  faster  than 
another,  there  must  be  a  crook  or  bend  in  the  casting,  this 
bend  being  made  while  some  part  of  the  casting  is  hotter 
than  another.  The  part  that  cools  first  in  equal-propor- 
tioned castings  will  generally  keep  the  casting  in  the  shape 
it  was  bent  when  hot. 

It  is  not  always  that  a  moulder  will  succeed  in  straighten- 
ing a  casting  before  it  is  cold.  He  may,  when  he  gets  it 
out  of  the  sand,  see  that  it  is  crooked,  and  while  there  is 
yet  a  little  heat  in  it,  by  dampening  the  rounding  side  or 
surface  with  cold  water,  straighten  it.  This  treatment  re- 
quires care,  especially  if  the  casting  is  so  hot  that  you  can- 
not bear  your  hands  on  it.  The  action  of  the  water  is 
sometimes  visible  as  soon  as  it  is  applied,  and  if  care  is  not 
taken,  the  casting  will  be  bent  the  other  way,  in  which 
case,  if  there  is  heat  enough  left,  it  may  be  wet  on  the  other 
side  to  bring  it  back. 


STRAIGHTENING  CROOKED  CASTINGS.  287 

After  castings  are  entirely  cold,  and  are  then  found  to  be 
crooked,  they  may  often  be  straightened  by  "  pening"  with 
a  hammer,  or  by  heating  the  middle  with  a  wood  and 
charcoal  fire,  and  weighting  down  the  ends. 

The  tipper  cut  shows  how  this  is  generally  done.  The 
crooked  casting  is  rested  on  two  iron  bearings,  E,  E,  high 
enough  to  give  a  good  chance  to  build  a  wood  fire  under- 
neath. There  are  then  wooden  or  iron  guide-blocks,  P,  P, 
set  to  allow  the  ends  of  the  casting,  when  it  is  being  straight- 
ened, to  be  bent  down  the  proper  distance,  so  that,  after 
the  weights  are  taken  off,  the  ends  will  spring  up,  leaving 
the  casting  straight.  It  will  generally  be  necessary,  if  the 
middle  is  made  red  hot,  to  bend  it  down  about  twice  as 
much  as  it  is  crooked  ;  that  is,  if  it  is  j"  crooked,  it  should 
be  bent  1£",  and  after  it  is  cold  and  the  weights  are  taken 
off,  it  will  be  about  straight.  This  is  done  by  adjusting  the 
blocks  P,  P,  so  that  the  weights  will  bend  the  ends  down 
just  as  far  as  required. 

In  straightening  castings  in  this  way  there  is  no  cooling 
or  contraction  involved ;  the  casting  is  simply  bent,  while 
red  hot  in  the  center,  by  the  weights. 

The  casting  must  be  red  hot,  and  be  bent  more  than 
sufficient  to  straighten  it,  as  explained. 

A  wood  fire  is  kept  underneath,  and  a  charcoal  fire  is 
made  on  top  of  the  casting,  so  as  to  have  it  surrounded 
entirely  by  a  strong  fire. 

Often  castings  can  be  made  straight  by  "pening"  the 
hollow  side  with  a  hammer,  as  shown.  The  hammering 
compresses  and  lengthens  the  part  that  is  hammered,  ex- 
panding the  surface  of  the  iron,  which  lowers  the  ends. 

A  solid  iron  block  should  always  be  used  to  rest  the  por- 
tion of  the  casting  under  the  hammer,  and  the  hammer 
should  have  a  good,  flat  "pene."  The  hammering  should 
be  done  gradually  over  the  surface.  Steady  hammering  on 


288  STRAIGHTENING   CROOKED  CASTINGS. 

one  spot  and  then  on  another  breaks  the  skin  or  surface  of 
the  iron,  or  perhaps  worse,  will  break  the  casting  in  pieces. 

The  lower  cut  shows  how  gates  and  runners  sometimes 
draw  castings  crooked.  This  casting  was  a  long,  toothed 
rack,  the  teeth  being  small.  The  casting  was  gated  as 
shown  (sometimes  such  castings  are  run  from  one  end,  by 
having  the  mould  set  on  an  incline),  and  when  it  was  taken 
out  of  the  sand  it  was  bent  sideways.  This  was  caused  by 
the  gates  and  runner  being  lighter  than  the  casting,  and  in 
cooling  and  contracting  the  quickest,  they  draw  the  casting 
crooked. 

To  remedy  this  in  the-  next  casting,  gates  were  made  on 
both  sides,  as  at  X,  X,  instead  of  on  one  side  only.  This 
caused  an  equal  pull  on  each  side,  thereby  making  a  straight 
casting.  The  small  gates,  2,  3,  4,  and  5,  at  the  ends,  would 
generally  be  broken  from  the  castings  by  their  more  rapid 
contraction. 

There  is  hardly  a  foundry  that  has  not  been  at  some  time 
troubled  by  castings  breaking  or  warping,  and  it  is  fre- 
quently troublesome  to  find  the  cause,  and  a  remedy. 


CAST  IROK.  289 


CAST  IRON. 

CAST  iron  is  obtained  from  ores  smelted  in  blast  furnaces. 
The  quality  and  grade  of  the  iron  produced  depends  upon 
the  nature  of  the  ores  and  fluxes  used,  also  whether  it  is 
hot  or  cold  blast,  and  what  class  of  fuel  is  used  to  smelt 
them.  The  same  class  of  ores  will  produce  different  grades 
of  iron  by  varying  the  charges  of  fuel  and  fluxes  ;  the  fluxes 
are  used  to  assist  the  melting  of  the  iron,  and  to  separate  the 
earthy  or  non-metallic  matter  from  the  ores,  which  is  run 
off  in  the  form  of  a  slag,  similar  to  that  which  runs  out  of  a 
cupola  when  large  heats  are  run  or  dirty  iron  used. 

The  slag  from  a  blast  furnace  generally  contains  more  or 
less  iron,  and  a  well-managed  and  good  working  furnace 
is  one  that  produces  the  grade  of  iron  intended,  and  extracts 
all  the  iron  possible  from  the  ore. 

Some  ores  contain  more  iron  than  others  ;  about  the  lowest 
percentage  of  iron  ore  used  is  sixteen  per  cent.,  and  about  the 
highest  percentage  of  iron  said  to  be  produced  from  ore  is 
seventy  per  cent. 

Silex,  lime,  and  clay  are  more  or  less  combined  with  iron 
ores;  some  ores  contain  so  much  that  the  ore  will  flux  itself, 
and  again  one  ore  will  be  used  to  flux  another. 

"Any  substance  which  promotes  the  welting  of  another  is 
called  a  flux.71 — OSBORN. 

The  percentage  and  class  of  fluxes  used  depends  upon  the 
composition  of  the  ores. 

Silicon,  sulphur,  phosphorus,  and  manganese  are  bodies 
that  exist  in  the  ores  as  in  the  cast  iron,  but  the  same  per- 
13 


290  CAST  IROK. 

centage  contained  in  the  ore  does  not  exist  in  the  grades  of 
iron  obtained  from  them. 

The  manager  of  a  blast  furnace  will  sometimes  cause  the 
composition  of  ores  to  be  entirely  changed  by  his  manipula- 
tion of  charging  and  smelting  them.  For  a  manager  to 
obtain  the  grade  of  iron  wanted,  a  practical  knowledge 
obtained  from  experience  and  from  the  chemical  composition 
of  the  ores,  fluxes,  and  fuels  used  is  necessary. 

The  fuels  used  to  smelt  ores  are  charcoal,  anthracite  coal, 
bituminous  coal,  and  coke.  Charcoal  makes  the  best  iron 
because  it  is  freer  from  sulphur,  and  other  impurities  which 
always  exist  more  or  less  in  coal  and  coke  ;  the  phosphorus 
in  iron  is  often  largely  obtained  from  the  limestone  used  to 
flux  the  ores. 

Silicon  and  the  manganese  in  iron  ore  are  obtained  from 
the  ores.  The  carbon  in  iron  is  obtained  from  the  fuel 
used  to  smelt  it  with.  The  carbon  in  gray  iron  is  mostly 
all  ni  the  form  of  a  graphite,  and  the  iron  may  con- 
tain as  much  as  three  or  four  percent,  of  it.  A  large 
percentage  of  graphite  in  gray  iron  will  make  it  very 
soft,  unless  made  hard  by  the  presence  of  some  harden- 
ing substance,  such  as  silicon,  which  is  the  most  common 
case. 

White  iron  contains  carbon  in  a  different  state  from  gray 
iron.  In  white  iron  it  is  called  combined  carbon,  in  which 
form  it  hardens  the  iron.  The  graphite  carbon  in  gray  iron 
can  have  a  large  percentage  made  combined  carbon,  as  in 
white  iron  by  casting  it  on  a  chill  or  suddenly  cooling  it. 
By  this  action  the  carbon,  which  in  melted  iron  is  in  the 
state  of  combination,  does  not  have  time  to  separate  in  the 
form  of  graphite. 

Silicon,  sulphur,  phosphorus,  and  manganese  are  im- 
purities found  in  cast  iron,  which  more  or  less  destroy  the 
strength  of  the  iron  by  making  it  hard  or  brittle.  Silicon 


CAST   IRON.  291 

greatly  increases  the  fluidity  of  iron,  thereby  making  it 
good  iron  to  run  light  or  thin  castings,  but  for  castings  re- 
quiring great  strength,  silicon  is  undesirable.  While  iron 
containing  sulphur  may  be  strong,  phosphorus  will  always 
be  an  element  of  weakness. 

Cold  blast  iron  is  said  to  contain  less  sulphur  and  phos- 
phorus than  hot  blast,  but  at  the  present  day  this  is  a  dis- 
puted point.  Charcoal  is  the  only  fuel  now  generally  used 
with  cold  blast ;  anthracite  coal  and  coke  being  blown 
with  hot  blast,  and  also  charcoal,  for  the  purpose  of  saving 
fuel  and  obtaining  a  larger  percentage  of  iron  from  the 
ores. 

White  iron  is  sometimes  produced  by  improper  charging, 
bad  fuel,  or  a  furnace  failing  to  work  as  it  should.  To 
obtain  gray  iron  requires  the  most  favorable  conditions  and 
management.  Gray  iron  passes  from  the  solid  to  a  liquid 
state  far  more  readily  than  white  iron.  White  iron  becomes 
soft  and  pasty  before  becoming  liquid.  White  iron  contains 
but  little  strength,  a  'No.  1  gray  iron  made  from  anthracite 
or  coke  furnaces  is  generally  a  soft,  open-grained  iron,  and 
used  to  make  thin,  light  castings ;  it  has  not  much  strength, 
but  it  possesses  great  softening  qualities,  which  permits  an 
advantageous  use  of  it  mixed  with  scrap  or  harder  grades  of 
iron. 

A  No.  2  iron  is  harder,  stronger,  and  closer  grained  than 
a  No.  1  iron. 

No.  3  is  still  harder  than  No.  2,  and  possesses  less  strength, 
while  its  color  is  gray  inclining  to  white. 

Nos.  4  and  5  are  mottled  irons,  which  are  made  from  a 
mixture  of  gray  and  white  irons. 

No.  6  is  white  iron,  possessed  with  little  strength,  and  very 
seldom  used  except  to  mix  with  softer  grades  of  iron  in  a 
foundry. 

No.  1  charcoal  iron  will  not  generally  make  as  soft  a  cast- 


CAST  IRON. 

ing  as  a  No.  1  anthracite  or  coke  iron.  A  No.  1  charcoal 
iron  should  be  a  yery  strong  iron. 

It  is  not  always  safe  to  rely  upon  the  appearance  of  pig 
iron  (when  broken)  as  to  its  qualities,  for  when  it  is  melted 
in  the  cupola  its  nature  will  often  change,  so  as  to  return 
an  entirely  different  grade  of  iron.  The  best  way  to  tell  the 
merits  of  pig  iron  is  by  melting  it.  To  judge  of  the  merits 
of  iron  when  in  a  liquid  or  solid  form,  requires  study  and 
experience  ;  hard  iron,  when  running  out  of  a  cupola,  causes 
numerous  sparks  to  fly  in  all  directions  ;  when  in  the  ladle 
the  surface  presents  an  unbroken,  close  appearance,  and  if 
the  surface  is  disturbed  it  acts  sluggish  and  devoid  of  life. 

A  No.  1  iron  in  running  displays  no  sparks,  and  when  in 
the  ladle  its  surface  presents  a  lively,  broken  appearance  of 
fine-colored  undulatory  movements,  No.  2  and  No.  3 
present  a  similar  appearance,  only  to  a  less  degree  as  the 
iron  becomes  closer. 

A  piece  of  iron  when  broken,  if  good  and  strong,  should 
present  a  medium-sized  grain,  of  a  lustrous  dark  gray  color, 
fracture  sharp  to  the  touch,  and  close,  compact  texture. 

A  grain  either  very  large  or  very  small,  a  dull,  earthy 
aspect  and  loose  texture,  indicates  a  poor  grade  of  iron. 
The  color  of  iron  is  generally  lighter  as  the  grain  becomes 
closer. 

All  kinds  of  iron  become  white  when  suddenly  chilled, 
and  iron  poor  in  carbon  becomes  so  most  readily. 

Cast  iron  melts  at  from  2,000°  up  to  3,000°,  and  will  pro- 
duce better  iron. when  melted  at  a  high .  temperature  than 
at  a  low  one. 


MIXIXG    AKD    MELTIXG    IRON.  293 


MIXING  AND    MELTING  IRON. 

To  be  able  to  mix  and  melt  irons  that  will  answer  for  such 
castings  as  cylinder  rolls,  dies,  pulleys,  etc.,  a  series  of  ma- 
nipulations are  given  that  to  many  foundry  managers  will 
be  far  more  instructive  than  an  elaborate  chemical  analysis 
of  iron.  Twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago  pig  iron  was  not 
so  easily  procured  as  at  the  present  day ;  much  of  the  iron 
used  was  imported,  and  what  few  brands  of  iron  were  in  the 
market  were  generally  well  known.  At  the  present  day, 
however,  we  find  the  home  production  so  large  that  it  would 
occupy  pages  to  even  mention  the  different  kinds,  and  the 
importations  are  so  small  that  we  seldom  hear  of  any.  Most 
all  American  foundries  now  use  different  brands.  Hence  an 
attempt  to  give  the  names  of  the  brands  used  would  help  the 
mixer  or  melter  much  less  than  the  plan  herein  adopted. 
Different  grades  of  iron  have  a  higher  or  a  lower  temperature 
at  which  they  will  melt.  A  hard  iron  will  generally  melt 
faster  than  a  soft  iron.  Pig  iron  requires  a  higher  tempera- 
ture to  melt  it  as  fast  as  a  piece  of  old  scrap  iron  of  the  same 
size.  Pig  iron  generally  melts  at  the  ends  of  the  pig  first, 
for  the  sand  and  scale  on  them  hinders  the  body  of  the  pig 
from  melting  ;  and  light  iron  will  melt  before  heavy.  When 
charging  iron,  the  heaviest  pieces  should  be  put  in  during 
the  first  part  of  the  heat,  for  cupolas  under  30"  inside 
diameter.  Heavy  pieces  of  iron  should  not  be  charged,  as 
they  are  more  or  less  liable  to  choke  the  cupola,  in  cupolas 
ranging  from  30"  upwards.  Larger  lumps  of  scrap  iron 
that  cannot  be  broken  are  very  often  melted ;  I  have  charged 


294  MIXING    AND   MELTING   IRON. 

pieces  ranging  from  100°  up  to  1,000°,  but  it  is  not  economy 
to  melt  heavy  pieces  if  they  can  be  broken,  for  such  large 
bodies  require  the  use  of  more  fuel  to  melt  them.  In 
charging  iron  it  should  be  evenly  distributed  over  the  fuel, 
and  made  level,  so  as  to  receive  the  charge  of  fuel  on 
the  top  of  it.  The  iron  should  not  be  charged  close  on ; 
it  is  better  to  charge  it  open,  thus  giving  the  flame  and 
heat  a  better  chance  to  reach  it.  In  charging  pig  iron,  the 
top  smooth  face,  having  no  sand  on  it,  should  be  the  side  to 
be  placed  next  to  the  surface  of  the  fuel,  since,  by  so  doing, 
the  heat  will  reach  it  more  readily.  Long  pieces  of  pig,  also 
scrap  iron,  should  be  used  as  little  as  possible,  especially 
in  the  smaller-sized  cupolas,  for  they  are  apt  to  hang  them 
up.  In  melting  irons  of  different  grades  during  the  same 
heat,  there  is  danger  of  getting  them  mixed,  unless  the  great- 
est of  care  and  judgment  are  used.  Sometimes  they  will 
get  mixed  because  of  the  method  the  melter  has  of  charging, 
some  men,  when  shoveling  in  coke  or  coal,  will  stand  back 
seven  or  eight  feet  from  the  charging  door,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  heat.  The  fuel  strikes  the  farthest  side  of  the  cupola,  and 
lodges  on  the  side  nearest  to  him,  so  that  instead  of  the 
fuel  being  level,  it  is  banked  up  against  one  side  ;  the  iron 
is  now  thrown  in,  and  it  rolls  to  the  lowest  side ;  thus 
the  largest  percentage  of  the  fuel  is-  on  one  side ;  and  of 
the  iron  on  the  opposite  side.  There  are  cupolas  charged 
in  this  manner  very  often.  The  foreman  will  complain 
to  his  melter  because  the  cupola  melts  so  slowly,  or  because 
it  is  choked  before  it  has  melted  half  the  iron  it  should 
do  ;  or  when  the  castings  come  out,  because  they  are  hard, 
or  not  of  the  grade  wanted ;  for  any  uneven  charging  of 
fuel  and  iron  will  always  cause  trouble,  and  to  many  it  may 
appear  a  very  profound  problem  to  solve,  when,  in  reality, 
it  is  only  the  lack  of  judgment  and  a  little  common 
sense. 


MIXING   AND   MELTING   IRON.  295 

SHOT     IRON,      OR     BURNT     IRON 

is  a  class  of  iron  that  foundrymen  dislike  to  have  anything 
to  do  with,  on  account  of  its  mixing  in  and  contaminating 
other  irons.  Shot  iron  will  sometimes  cause  hard  spots  in 
castings,  it  also  causes  them  to  crack,  and  very  often  five  or  six 
hundred  would  make  a  sixty  hundred  heat  of  soft  iron  so 
hard  that  half  of  the  castings  would  be  condemned.  Shops 
that  can  use  nothing  but  first-class  iron  in  their  castings 
generally  have  trouble  to  get  rid  of  shot  iron  ;  there  are 
some  shops  that  will  not  bother  with  it  at  all ;  they  will  pick 
out  all  the  iron  they  can  from  the  cinder,  and  let  the  rest  go ; 
and  it  has  often  been  a  question  in  my  mind  whether  they 
were  not  as  well  off  as  those  that  paid  help  to  screen  the 
cinders,  and  used  the  shot  iron  at  the  expense  of  making 
bad  castings.  I  have  tried  in  many  ways  to  use  shot  iron  so 
as  not  to  spoil  good  soft  iron,  and  about  the  best  plan  is  to 
make  a  separate  heat  of  it,  or  melt  it  at  the  last  of  a  heat, 
and  then  pour  it  into  pigs,  which  can  then  be  broken  and 
used  to  mix  in  with  good  pigs  in  future  heats;  but  in  any 
form  it  should  be  used  with  caution.  Burnt  iron,  in  many 
respects,  is  like  shot  iron,  so  far  as  making  bad  castings  is 
concerned.  Burnt  iron  will  make  more  slag  than  shot  iron, 
and  cause  a  cupola  to  choke  quicker.  There  are  degrees  in 
burnt  iron,  some  are  worse  to  deal  with  than  others;  but  with 
shot  irons  it  is  all  about  alike.  Burnt  iron  should  only  be 
used  in  small  quantities  at  a  time,  unless  a  lot  of  sash 
weights,  etc.,  are  to  be  made,  then  a  heat  can  be  made  of 
nothing  but  burnt  iron,  and  the  cupola  run  until  your 
ladles  and  cupola  are  all  choked,  if  one  desires  to  do  so. 

In  melting  ordinary  mixtures  of  iron,  such  as  that  used 
for  common  castings,  there  is  seldom  trouble  caused  from 
the  different  kinds  of  scrap  or  pig  not  giving  the  quality 
wanted,  when  shot  or  burnt  iron  is  left  out,  and  the 
melter  charges  the  iron  and  fuel  as  it  should  be  done. 


396  IRON    MIXTURES. 


IRON  MIXTURES. 

WHEN"  a  foundry  receives  a  pattern  they  receive  instruc- 
tions as  to  the  grade  of  iron  required  in  the  casting.  One 
may  desire  a  good  soft  iron,  another  a  very  strong  iron,  or  a 
very  hard  iron,  or  perhaps  desire  it  chilled.  These  four 
elements  comprise  the  requirements  for  special  mixture. 
When  a  cheap  iron  is  desired,  the  castings  are  generally 
made  of  what  is  called  a  common  mix,  and  in  such  cases  it 
may  be  even  too  COMMON. 

Common  mixtures  are  generally  made  of  one  third  No.  1 
soft  pig,  and  two  thirds  common  scrap. 

Castings  that  need  to  be  soft,  as  pulleys  and  thin  castings, 
are  generally  made  of  the  openest  No.  1  pig  that  can  be 
obtained,  and  then  mixed  with  half  good  machinery  scrap 
iron  :  if  all  pig  iron  is  used,  as  a  rule,  softer  casting  will  be 
obtained.  By  mixing  two  brands  of  No.  1  pig,  in  fact, 
to  obtain  any  grade  of  castings  from  pig,  it  is  best  to  use  at 
least  two  brands  of  pig,  as  it  results  in  a  better  iron.  In 
the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  more  pig  iron  and  less  scrap 
is  used  than  in  the  Western  States.  A  great  many  places 
use  almost  all  pig  iron  in  their  mixtures,  which  plan  is  not 
good  in  many  cases,  for  a  fair  percentage  of  good  scrap 
mixed  with  pig  iron  will  often  make  a  cleaner  and  stronger 
casting.  To  obtain  a  very  soft  iron  it  is  sometimes  ad- 
visable to  use  nothing  but  pig,  selecting  from  two  brands 
the  openest  pig  that  can  be  found.  Soft  iron  is  not  a  strong 
iron  ;  it  is  a  very  hard  matter  to  obtain  a  very  soft  casting 
and  at  the  same  time  a  strong  one.  One  of  the  beet  irons 


IKON   MIXTUKES.  297 

manufactured  which  accomplishes  this  end  is  the  Hanging 
Eock  iron,  manufactured  along  the  Ohio  Kiver;  No.  1  Scotch 
pig  is  a  good  iron  to  use  as  a  softener.  When  it  is  desirable 
to  use  up  scrap  or  No.  2  and  No.  3  pig,  100  pounds  of  No.  1 
Scotch  and  400  pounds  of  either  will  make  a  stronger  mix- 
ture than  if  equal  proportions  of  each  are  used-  Nos.  1 
and  2  of  Scotch  pig  are  generally  a  very  weak  iron,  and  if 
used  alone  the  castings  would  be  porous  and  unclean  when 
finished  up.  There  is  American  Scotch  pig  as  well  as 
foreign. 

For  castings  requiring  strength  when  all  pig  is  used,  it  is 
best  to  mix  a  No.  1  of  one  kind  with  a  No.  2  of  another. 
There  are  three  classes  of  pig  iron  named  by  furnace  man- 
agers— the  red  short,  the  cold  short,  and  the  neutral  iron.* 
The  red  short  is  an  iron  that  has  no  strength  when  red  hot, 
the  cold  short  is  one  that  has  no  strength  when  cold,  a  neu- 
tral iron  is  made  by  mixing  the  red  and  cold  short  irons  to- 
gether ;  and,  naturally,  the  neutral  iron  makes  the  best 
castings.  When  mixing  irons  of  two  or  three  distinct  grades, 
to  make  a  casting  which  is  to  stand  great  pressure  or  strain, 
or  to  have  a  spotless  finish,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  melt  the 
mixture  and  pour  it  into  some  pig  beds  ;  then,  if  the  mixture 
gives  the  grade  desired,  remelt  the  pigs  and  pour  the  cast- 
ing. This  is  a  good  plan  also  for  some  special  cylinder, 
roll,  or  die  castings,  where  a  mixture  of  distinct  grades  is 
used,  such  as  No.  1  charcoal  and  No.  1  anthracite  or  coke, 
car-wheel  scrap,  and  a  percentage  of  white  iron  or  steel. 
Whenever  white  iron  or  steel  is  to  be  mixed  with  soft  iron, 
the  process  is  troublesome,  for  they  will  not  mix  well  to- 
gether; but  by  twice  melting,  the  union  is  made  more  com- 
pact and  the  result  cleaner.  One  thing  that  should  not  be 
lost  sight  of  in  remelting  iron  is,  that  every  time  iron  is 
remelted  IT  is  MADE  HARDER. 

When  making  chilled  castings  a  strong  iron  should  be 
13* 


298  IRON   MIXTURES. 

used,  as  the  chilling  of  any  iron  will  weaken  it ;  the  closer 
the  grain  of  iron  the  deeper  will  the  casting  be  chilled, 
hence  a  No.  1  open-grained  iron  can  seldom  be  chilled. 
Charcoal  irons  are  generally  used  in  making  chilled  castings 
on  account  of  their  superior  strength.  For  castings  that  are 
to  be  chilled  yery  deep  or  made  very  hard,  white  iron,  and 
sometimes  steel,  is  melted  in  with  the  charcoal  irons.  White 
iron  makes  a  casting  weak  and  brittle,  and  whether  steel 
makes  a  casting  stronger  is  a  disputed  point,  but  to  harden 
softer  irons  steel  is  effective. 

For  heavy  castings,  designed  to  stand  strains  and  friction, 
one  third  No.  1  charcoal  and  two  thirds  mottled  would 
answer.  Mottled  iron  is  generally  a  strong  and  close-grained 
iron.  In  mixing  hard  grades  of  iron,  requiring  finishing, 
open-grained  and  close-grained  iron  should  not  be  mixed  to- 
gether, for  it  is  apt  to  show  an  uneven  grain  in  the  finish- 
ing. The  following  receipts  have  been  used  for  the  castings 
noted  : 

LOCOMOTIVE   CYLINDERS. 

2,600  pounds  of  car-wheel  scrap, 
600        "         soft  pig. 

These  cylinders  would  be  so  hard  that  the  edges 
and  fins  would  often  be  chilled;  the  casting,  when  cleaned, 
weighed  about  2,400  pounds. 

MARINE   AND   STATIONARY   CYLINDERS. 

First— 

One  half  No.  1  charcoal, 

"        good  machinery  scrap. 
Second — 

One  third  car-wheel  scrap, 

"         good  machinery  scrap, 
"         No.  1  soft  pig. 


IRON   MIXTURES.  299 

ROLLING   MILL  ROLLS. 

Some  places  make  their  rolls  out  of  car-wheel  scrap  only. 
For  small  rolls,  however,  if  the  rims  of  the  car-wheels  are 
not  chilled  over  f ",  and  the  middle  and  hub  appear  toler- 
ably soft  and  not  mottled,  the  iron  would  be  the  right  grade. 
The  wheels  selected  to  make  rolls  over  14"  in  diameter 
should  be  the  thickest  chilled  ones,  and  the  rolls  so  made 
often  have  the  edges  and  fins  chilled. 

One  half  car-wheel  scrap, 
One  quarter  No.  1  charcoal, 

No.  2 

This  is  also  a  mixture  used  for  making  rolls,  and  the  car- 
wheels  should  be  selected  for  the  small  and  large  rolls  as 
above  noted. 

Mixture  used  for  making  small  chilled  rolls,  which  were 
desired  chilled  1^",  otherwise  they  would  be  of  no  use  : 

1,300  Bounds  of  old  car-wheels, 
100  "  No.  1  charcoal, 
300  "  steel  rail  butts. 

Mixture  used  for  making  kettles  which  had  to  stand  a 
red-hot  heat  all  the  time,  so  that  the  iron  had  to  be  strong 
and  close : 

1,300  pounds  of  No.  1  charcoal  pig, 
800  "  old  car- wheel  scrap, 
700  "  good  machinery  scrap. 

*  Mixture  used  to  make  castings  chilled,  which  are  moulded 
all  together  in  sand,  the  castings  being  required  to  stand 
friction  and  no  strain  : 


300  IRON   MIXTURES. 

200  pounds  of  white  iron, 
200         "         plow  points, 
100         "         No.  k  charcoal, 
100         "         car-wheel  scrap. 

PULLEY    MIXTURES. 

Iron  for  making  pulleys  should  have  as  little  shrinkage 
about  it  as  possible.  It  would  be  a  hard  matter  to  give  the 
exact  proportions  of  iron  to  be  mixed  for  them,  as  the  thick- 
ness of  the  rims  and  the  quality  of  the  iron  is  what  such 
mixtures  depend  upon.  For  thin  pulleys  the  iron  cannot 
be  mixed  too  soft,  sometimes  it  is  best  to  select  the  openest 
pigs  from  two  brands  of  a  No.  1,  and  again  two  thirds  of 
No.  1  and  one  third  good  scrap  work  well.  For  rims  over 
|"  thick,  often  pulleys  are  easily  turned  up,  if  the  mixture 
is  of  equal  proportions  of  No.  1  and  good  scrap. 

SASH-WEIGHT   MIXTURE. 

Two  thirds  scrap  tin, 
One  third  stove  plate  scrap. 
This  mixture,  when  melted,  made  white  iron. 

The  few  mixtures  given  show  how  special  grades  can  be 
made  or  changed.  To  mix  the  above  iron  for  machinery 
castings,  these  mixtures,  except  the  sash-weights,  are  gener- 
ally costly,  and  always  demand  an  increase  in  the  price  of 
castings. 


ODD   WAYS   OF   MELTING   IRON.  301 


ODD  WAYS  OF  MELTING  IRON. 

THERE  is  probably  as  much  reason  for  changes  in  the  plan 
of  melting  iron  as  there  is  in  moulding  jobbing  work.  Melt- 
ers  will  sometimes  get  nervous  at  being  ordered  to  charge 
up  their  cupola  in  as  many  different  ways  as  there  are  days 
in  the  week.  A  foreman  that  understands  his  business  very 
seldom  lays  out  a  system,  or  a  table  of  charges,  for  his  melter 
to  follow  day  after  day,  in  a  regular  jobbing  shop.  The  fore- 
man may  have  various  reasons  for  wanting  his  melter  to 
make  all  these  changes.  To-day  he  may  want  the  cupola  to 
melt  extra  fast  during  the  first  of  the  heat,  and  slowly  after 
some  heavy  casting  is  poured,  in  order  to  have  melted  iron  to 
feed  with.  To-morrow,  seeing  that  some  moulder  will  not 
get  ready  in  season,  this  order  may  be  reversed.  As 
he  does  not  want  to  keep  his  men  late  when  it  can  be 
avoided,  he  orders  the  cupola  charged,  so  that  the  men  hav- 
ing small  work  can  be  pouring  oif  while  the  large  casting  is 
being  got  ready.  This  casting,  ijiat,  perhaps,  weighs  five 
tons,  may  not  be  thick  in  any  of  its  parts,  so  as  to  require 
much  feeding,  and  the  bottom  can  be  dropped  soon  after  it 
is  poured.  In  this  way  the  only  moulders  kept  late  are  the 
ones  that  were  going  to  keep  the  whole  shop's  crew  behind, 
which,  for  a  shop  that  pays  overtime,  would  be  expensive, 
and,  in  any  case,  is  not  pleasant  for  the  men. 

On  some  days  the  shop  floor  may  be  covered  with  a  class 
of  work  that  is  better  for  being  poured  with  dull  iron,  and 
the  next  day  the  work  may  be  such  as  to  require  very  hot 
iron.  Again,  there  will  be  heavy  and  light  castings,  requir- 


302  ODD   WAYS   OF   MELTING   IRON. 

ing  entirely  different  grades  of  iron  ;  and  to  complicate 
matters  the  foreman,  if  an  observing  man,  will  see  that  the 
brand  of  iron  is  not  of  the  same  grade  as  the  last  car  load. 
All  of  the  above  causes,  to  which  could  be  added  quality  of 
fuel,  sometimes  make  a  thoughtful  foreman  think  of  a  string 
tied  full  of  knots. 

I  will  try  and  show  in  this,  two  of  the  many  plans  that 
may  be  adopted  to  meet  different  conditions  that  may  be 
new  to  some.  One  is  for  melting  special  grades  of  iron,  and 
the  other  to  retain  the  bed  in  a  cupola  after  melting  a  heat 
for  a  break-down  job,  or  for  a  piece  of  casting  that  is  wanted 
in  a  hurry. 

I  worked  once  in  a  rolling  mill  company's  foundry,  and 
sometimes  when  everything  was  about  poured  off,  there  could 
in  the  distance  be  seen  some  one  of  the  managers  running 
towards  the  foundry  as  if  he  meant  business.  Our  ignor- 
ance of  the  cause  of  his  haste  would  soon  be  enlightened  by 
seeing  a  team,  or  some  men  bringing  a  pattern.  This  pattern 
would  be  given  to  some  competent  moulder,  and  two  or  three 
reliable  moulders  would  be  retained  to  help  him.  By  this 
time  all  the  moulds  are  poured  off  and  the  cupola  man  has 
received  instruction  not  to  drop  the  bottom,  but  to  prepare 
it  to  melt  iron  again  in  the  course  of  three  or  four  hours. 
The  way  to  do  this  is  as  follows  :  Leave  the  blast  on  until 
you  are  sure  all  the  iron  in  the  cupola  is  melted,  and  instead 
of  dropping  the  bottom,  knock  out  the  front  breast,  and  with 
a  bent  hook  pull  out  all  the  clinkering  coke  or  coal  and  iron 
cinder  that  can  be  felt  or  seen.  Then  fill  up  the  breast  hole 
with  loose  sand,  and  every  five  or  ten  minutes  take  away  the 
sand  and  pull  out  again  whatever  clinkers  or  iron  cinders  will 
have  formed,  repeating  the  operation  for  the  first  half  hour  or 
so,  or  until  you  are  sure  that  all  the  droppings  of  iron  and  clink- 
ers are  pulled  out.  After  this,  every  half  hour  or  so  will  be 
sufficiently  often  to  clean  the  bottom  out.  The  stopping  up 


ODD   WAYS   OF   MELTING   IRON".  303 

of  the  breast  every  time  the  clinkers  are  cleaned  out  is  done 
to  prevent  the  fuel  from  burning  away,  and  also  to  keep  the 
clinkers  and  droppings  of  iron  from  being  chilled  with  the 
air. 

After  the  cupola  is  well  cleaned  out,  there  should  be  some 
fuel  shoveled  in,  so  as  to  freshen  up  and  keep  the  fire  in  good 
burning  condition.  When  the  moulders  have  their  mould 
or  moulds  about  ready,  then  make  up  the  breast  as  usual, 
and  shovel  in  the  fuel  for  a  bed,  the  same  height  as  for  a 
regular  heat.  After  it  gets  to  burning,  charge  up  the  iron 
wanted,  put  on  the  blast,  and  you  will  soon  have  your  cu- 
pola melting  iron  again.  The  first  two  or  three  hundred  of 
iron  is  generally  dull,  and  sometimes  will  have  to  be  poured 
into  a  pig  bed.  After  this  the  iron  will  come  hot  enough 
for  ordinary  castings. 

The  question  of  how  large  a  heat  a  cupola  run  in  this  way 
would  melt  could  not  be  better  answered  than  by  the  follow- 
ing :  One  morning  early,  two  or  three  men  were  called  upon 
to  mould  up  a  piece  of  machinery  for  a  repair  job.  The  melter 
and  helpers  were  called  to  the  shop  to  get  the  cupola  ready 
as  soon  as  possible.  The  casting,  the  weight  of  which  was 
about  2,500  pounds,  was  poured  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  The  iron  was  all  blown  down,  the  breast  knocked 
out,  and  the  cupola  treated  as  above  described,  until  the  time 
for  the  regular  afternoon  heats,  which  were  never  less  than 
12  tons.  The  blast  was  again  put  on,  and  after  the  first  few 
hundred  pounds  the  iron  was  as  good  and  as  hot  as  usual. 
The  time  that  the  cupola  was  held  from  one  heat  to  another 
was  about  four  hours.  The  size  of  this  cupola  was  a  five-foot 
shell. 

To  prevent  the  mixing  of  different  grades  of  iron,  when 
melted  at  one  heat,  has  been  the  cause  of  a  deal  of  thought 
and  many  experiments  withfoundrymen.  I  know  of  a  foun- 
dry owner  who  makes  a  practice  of  melting  only  one  grade 


304  ODD  WAYS   OF  MELTING   IRON. 

of  iron  at  a  time.  If  he  has  a  roll  to  cast,  he  will  only  charge 
up  the  iron  weighed  off  for  it.  The  blast  will  then  be  put 
on  and  all  the  iron  in  the  cupola  melted  and  tapped  out. 
The  blast  is  then  stopped  and  the  bed  renewed  with  coke. 
Another  grade  of  iron  is  then  charged  up  and  all  melted 
down.  I  remember  one  day  he  made  three  distinct  blow- 
outs during  the  same  heat.  The  first  was  about  7,000 
pounds  for  a  roll ;  the  second,  about  2,000  for  soft  work,  and 
the  third  was  common  iron  to  finish  off  a  heat  of  about  8 
tons.  The  size  of  the  cupola  that  this  was  done  in  was 
about  a  four  foot  six  inch  shell.  This  same  gentleman  has 
a  reputation  for  turning  out  castings  of  the  grade  of  iron 
wanted,  and  it  is  owing  to  no  more  nor  less  than  the  way  he 
charges  up  his  cupola,  and  in  being  particular  in  the  mixing 
and  selection  of  his  iron.  The  objection  to  this  style  of 
melting  is  that  there  is  a  little  more  coke  used,  and  it  takes 
from  half  an  hour  to  one  hour  longer  to  run  a  heat  off. 

It  seems  almost  an  impossibility  to  run  a  straight  heat, 
when  there  are  two  or  three  different  grades  of  iron  to  melt, 
without  having  them  mix  more  or  less,  and  the  less  the 
weights  of  the  different  grades  to  be  nielted,  the  more  will 
they  be  liable  to  mix.  For  example :  Charge  an  ordinary 
cupola  with  a  regular  charge  of  a  special  grade  of  iron,  with 
the  usual  charge  of  fuel  on  top,  and  so  on,  charging 
with  distinct  grades  of  iron.  As  the  grades  of  iron  melt, 
pour  some  castings,  the  weight  of  which  should  be  nearly 
the  same  as  the  charge.  On  the  following  day  melt  the 
special  grades  of  iron  by  themselves,  and  pour  some  cast- 
ings, and  then  compare  the  runners  and  gates,  and  you  will 
see  that  there  is  a  difference. 

It  is  generally  known  that  hard  iron  will  melt  sooner  than 
soft  iron,  and  most  foundrymen,  when  making  a  casting  of 
hard  iron,  have  the  hard  iron  charged  first,  to  make  sure  of 
having  the  casting  of  good,  sound  iron  and  of  the  grade 


ODD   WAYS    OF   MELTING    IRON".  305 

wanted.  If  they  have  soft  iron  to  run,  it  is  generally  charged 
on  the  top  of  the  hard  iron.  This  is  a  plan  that  I  do  not 
always  approve  of,  as  there  are  always  more  or  less  particles 
of  any  grades  or  charges  of  iron  left  remaining  among  the 
fuel  and  on  the  bottom  and  sides  of  a  cupola,  and  which  will 
affect  two  or  three  other  charges. 

A  plan  that  I  find  to  work  well,  when  hard  and  soft 
iron  are  wanted,  is  to  melt  the  hard  iron  first ;  then,  in- 
stead of  putting  the  soft  iron  directly  on  the  top  of  the 
hard  iron,  I  charge  one  or  two  charges  of  common  iron.  On 
top  of  these  charges  the  soft  iron  will  be  charged.  After,  as 
I  think,  all  the  hard  iron  is  down,  then  the  common  iron  is 
tapped  out  until,  by  the  number  of  ladles  carried  off,  I  think 
it  is  all  melted.  At  this  point  the  soft  castings  are  poured 
according  to  the  degree  of  softness  wanted.  The  softest 
casting  wanted,  if  there  have  been  three  charges  of  soft  iron 
charged,  should  be  taken  from  what  is  thought  to  be  the 
middle  or  second  charge. 

In  some  cases  where  1  have  only  a  small  amount  of  very 
soft  iron  wanted,  I  charge  up  the  soft  iron  on  the  top  of  the 
bed,  which  should  be  burning  well,  and  should  not  have  in 
as  much  fuel  by  from  4"  to  6"  as  for  ordinary  heats.  This 
iron  will  be  put  in  from  one  half  hour  to  one  hour  before 
any  of  the  other  charges  of  iron  are  put  in,  and  when  all  is 
ready  to  have  the  rest  of  the  charges  put  in,  make  the  first 
charge  of  fuel  (that  which  is  placed  between  the  first  and 
second  charges  of  iron)  a  large  one  ;  as  much  larger  than 
usual  as  the  bed  was  left  low.  By  this  means  the  large 
charge  of  fuel  takes  a  longer  time  to  get  hot,  and  separates 
the  charges  of  iron  more  readily,,  When  the  first  charge  of 
iron  is  melted,  the  second,  or  large  charge  of  fuel,  will  come 
down  and  raise  the  bed  up  to  the  proper  height  to  run  the 
balance  of  the  heat  off.  I  have  by  this  plan  charged  hard 
iron  on  the  top  of  soft  iron. 


306  ODD   WAYS   OF   MELTING   IRON. 

And  when  not  taking  out  the  soft  iron  too  closely  to  the 
amount  charged  up,  the  castings  have  been  as  soft  as  if  the 
hard  iron  had  never  been  charged  up.  It  is  in  having  only 
small  quantities  of  different  grades  of  iron  to  melt  that 
there  is  serious  trouble  with  their  mixing  together.  With 
large  quantities  there  is  more  chance  of  having  castings  the 
grade  wanted;  but  even  then  the  melter  must  use  judgment 
in  seeing  that  the  iron  is  charged  as  it  should  be,  and  the 
foreman  should  be  watchful,  so  as  to  know  that  the  iron  is 
taken  away  from  the  cupola  as  the  grades  melt  or  come 
down. 


THE   TUYEKES   AKD   LINING   OF   A   CUPOLA.  307 


THE    TUYERES  AND  LINING  OF  A  CUPOLA. 

THE  governors  of  a  cupola  are  its  tuyeres :  it  is  through 
them  that  life  and  combustion  is  given  to  the  fuel  by  rapidly 
supplying  air.  Without  air  there  can  be  no  fire,  for  the  oxygen 
air  contains,  when  combined  with  the  carbon  in  the  fuel  and 
ignited,  gives  to  us  heat  or  flame,  so  that  the  faster  we  supply 
this  oxygen  to  the  fire,  the  greater  the  amount  of  heat  we 
obtain.     Chemists  tell  us  that  two  atoms  of  oxygen  combined 
with  one  atom   of  carbon  cause  a  thorough  combustion  of 
the  fuel,  and  if  more  than  two  atoms  of  oxygen  are  supplied 
to  one  of    carbon,  it  causes  a  destruction  of  the  fuel  by 
making  its  life  short.     To  obtain  the  heat  for  the  hot  and 
fast  melting  generally  required,  our  forced  blast  of  air  is 
said  to  give  us  more  than  the  two  atoms  of  oxygen,  and  hence 
Rre  are  compelled  to  use  more  fuel  than  we  otherwise  should. 
There  are  manufacturers  of  patent  cupolas  who  claim  their 
process  will  largely  prevent  this  extra  consumption  or  waste 
of  fuel  owing  to  certain   arrangement  of   the  tuyeres,  and 
among  the  most  prominent  are  the  Collians  and  McKenzie 
cupolas.     The  best  test  of  these  patents  is  their  practical 
working,  which  must  be  seen  to  be  understood.     The  Collians 
cupola  tuyeres  are  apparently  based  upon  a  very  scientific 
principle  to  accomplish  the  end  desired :  since,  however,  it  is 
only  intended  to  notice  the  various  cupolas  and  tuyeres  which 
may  be  used,  no  recommendation  is  made.     There  are  every 
imaginable  shaped  tuyeres  used — oblong,  triangular,  oval, 
square,  flat,  and  round.     For  each  style  there  can  be  found 
ready  advocates  ;  but,  after  all,  the  plain  round  tuyere  has 


308  THE   TUYERES   AND   LINING   OF  A    CUPOLA. 

my  preference  as  it  can  be  easily  replaced,  and  gives  oppor- 
tunity to  bar  into  a  cupola,  and  also  as  it  does  not  cool  as 
much  area  as  flat  tuyeres,  etc. 

The  distance  of  a  tuyere  from  the  bottom  or  bed  is  deter- 
mined by  the  class  of  work  to  be  done  ;  for  instance,  in 
foundries  for  making  stove  plates,  the  height  of  tuyere  from 
the  bed  should  be  from  7"  to  15";  while  in  machine  or  jobbing 
foundries  they  should  be  higher,  say,  from  one  to  three  feet, 
according  to  the  amount  of  iron  required  to  be  melted  at 
one  tap.  The  advantage  of  low  tuyeres  is  a  saving  of  fuel. 
For  melting  large  quantities  of  iron,  it  requires  the  same 
amount  of  fuel  over  a  low  tuyere  as  it  does  over  a  high 
tuyere. 

Another  reason  for  having  high  tuyeres  for  use  in  machine 
or  jobbing  foundries  is,  a  large  body  of  iron  is  often  required 
to  be  melted  before  tapping  out  the  iron  into  a  "  crane 
ladle."  The  object  is  to  have  a  large  body  of  iron  to  retain 
the  heat,  as  sometimes  it  takes  two  or  three  hours  to  melt 
enough  iron  to  pour  a  heavy  casting.  This  course  also  gives 
time  to  allow  the  scrap  iron  of  all  descriptions  and  grades, 
also  heavy  solid  pieces  of  old  castings,  to  melt  and  become 
thoroughly  mixed  with  the  new  iron  which  has  been  added. 
A  cupola  with  tuyeres  high  will  melt  more  and  run 
longer  heats  than  it  would  if  the  tuyeres  were  low  ;  but 
there  are  times  when  having  both  would  be  an  advantage.  To 
meet  this  want,  there  have  been  two  sets  of  tuyeres  applied  to 
the  cupola,  and  placed  one  above  the  other.  These  can  be 
easily  arranged,  so  that  either  set  may  be  employed  to  ad- 
vantage, using  the  high  tuyeres  for  heavy  heats,  and  the  low 
tuyeres  for  light  heats. 

The  openings  of  the  tuyeres  not  in  use  are  to  be  stopped 
with  clay.  Sometimes  the  spout  and  breast  of  a  cupola  can 
be  so  arranged  as  to  raise  or  lower  it,  thus  affording  an 
opportunity  to  put  in  a  high  or  low  sand  bottom,  a  plan 


THE   TUYERES  AND   LINING   OF  A   CUPOLA.  309 

which  not  long  ago  was  used  by  the  author  in  a  50"  cupola, 
and  found  to  work  satisfactorily.  A  very  convenient  form 
of  alarm  for  indicating  the  highest  limit  to  which  the  melted 
iron  is  allowed  to  rise  in  the  cupola  will  be  readily  under- 
stood by  the  following  description.  Referring  to  the  accom- 
panying engraving,  it  will  be  observed  that  the  melted  iron 
has  reached  the  highest  limit  allowable,  and  is  running 
through  the  tuyere  hole  into  a  small  cast-iron  box,  having 
an  inclined  wooden  bottom. 

This  bottom,  shown  at  X,  has  three  holes  of  one  inch 
diameter,  bored  through  within  i",  allowing  sufficient  ma- 
terial to  prevent  the  wind  from  escaping. 

The  bottom  is  held  up  tightly  in  place  by  a  piece  of  round 
iron  and  a  wooden  wedge,  as  shown.  This  device  should  be 
attached  to  the  tuyere  nearest  the  spout  F,  so  as  to  be  easily 
observed.  It  is  of  essential  importance  to  have  the  tuyere, 
to  which  the  alarm  is  to  be  attached,  about  one  inch  lower 
than  the  rest,  in  order  that  the  alarm  may  be  given  in  time 
to  prevent  the  melted  iron  from  running  out  of  the  higher 
tuyeres  into  the  pipes  G,  D.  When  the  melted  metal  rises 
to  the  height  of  the  low  tuyere,  it  will  run  into  the  alarm 
box,  filling  the  holes  and  burning  through  the  wooden  bot- 
tom to  the  floor  almost  instantly.  A  ladle  could  be  placed 
under  the  alarm  to  catch  the  melted  iron,  if  desired,  without 
doing  any  injury.  Several  extra  wooden  bottoms  should  be 
kept  on  hand  to  replace  those  burnt  out. 

The  tuyere  valve,  B,  forms  a  very  convenient  air-tight 
opening,  and  furnishes  the  means  to  bar  into  the  cupola,  or 
inspect  the  same,  as  a  piece  of  mica  is  fastened  into  the  open- 
ing 0,  with  putty. 

The  application  of  the  alarm  described,  to  a  cupola,  effec- 
tually prevents  the  excitement  which  usually  prevails  in  a 
foundry  when  the  melted  iron  overflows,  resulting  in  heavy 
losses  of  castings. 


310  THE  TUYERES   AND   LIKING   OF   A   CUPOLA. 

The  workmen  are  frequently  and  sometimes  badly  burned 
by  accidents  of  this  kind  ;  and  there  are  many  cupolas  in  use 
having  quantities  of  iron  in  the  wind  boxes  and  pipes,  thus 
obstructing  the  passages.  The  pipes  are  frequently  destroyed 
by  the  hot  metal,  while  in  others  they  have  to  be  patched. 
The  workmen  have  to  rely  upon  their  judgment  generally  to 
determine  the  height  of  the  iron  in  the  cupola,  and  some- 
times are  deceived.  In  some  instances  the  tuyeres  are  so  con- 
structed that  an  alarm  could  not  be  applied  to  them  ;  in  such 
cases  I  would  recommend  the  application  of  a  blind  tuyere 
one  inch  lower  than  the  working  tuyeres,  and  attach  the 
alarm  to  it.  This  useful  appliance  is,  I  believe,  original, 
and  is  hereby  given  to  those  who  may  wish  to  use  it. 

The  lining  of  a  cupola  should  always  be  built  solid  and 
close.  The  fire-clay  placed  between  the  bricks  is  only  to 
make  an  air-tight  joint,  and  the  less  clay  used  the  better. 
The  clay  should  be  mixed  with  water,  and  very  thin,  so  that 
by  dipping  the  bricks  into  it  sufficient  clay  will  adhere  to 
them  to  form  a  tight  joint.  Each  brick  should  be  ham- 
mered until  all  the  superfluous  clay  is  squeezed  out  from  the 
joint.  A  cupola  lined  up  in  the  manner  described  will  last 
one  third  longer  than  when  the  bricks  are  laid  in  thick  clay, 
keeping  the  bricks  apart ;  and  as  the  clay  has  not  the  power 
to  resist  the  intense  heat,  it  soon  crumbles  away,  leaving  the 
joints  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  fire.  In  mixing  clay,  some 
advocate  the  addition  of  one  third  sharp  sand.  A  very  good 
plan  is  to  boil  the  clay  and  sand  together  in  a  pot,  as  they 
will  become  more  thoroughly  incorporated.  There  are  three 
courses  or  thicknesses  of  bricks  used  in  lining  up  a  cupola. 
Some  foundrymen  line  up  their  cupolas  with  a  four-inch  wall, 
keeping  the  bricks  back  from  half  an  inch  to  one  inch  from 
the  shell  of  the  cupola,  filling  the  open  space  with  clay,  mak- 
ing a  wall  of  about  five  inches  thick.  When  this  course  is 
adopted,  the  man  in  charge  need  not  be  surprised  some  day, 


A  AT    A  I.  ARM 


312  THE  TUYERES  AND   LINING   OF  A  CUPOLA. 

after  the  bricks  have  burned  out  a  little  and  a  heavy  heat  is 
raised,  to  see  the  cupola  shell  get  red  hot,  and  perhaps  a  hole 
burned  in  it.  I  claim  that  the  safest  and  best  way  to  line  a 
large  cupola  is  with  an  eight-inch  wall,  us  with  that  thickness 
of  bricks  no  fears  need  be  entertained  in  running  off  heavy 
heats,  and  when  the  inside  four-inch  lining  is  burnt  out,  it 
may  be  replaced  without  disturbing  the  other  four-inch  lin- 
ing next  to  the  shell. 

When  it  is  impossible  to  follow  the  above  directions,  on 
account  of  the  double  lining  making  the  inside  diameter  of  the 
cupola  too  small,  very  satisfactory  results  may  be  obtained 
by  placing  the  bricks  on  end,  so  as  to  make  the  back  lining 
two  inches,  and  a  four-inch  lining  laid  up  in  front,  as  shown 
by  the  engraving.  Broken  bricks  may  be  used  for  the  back 
lining.  The  dimensions  of  fire  bricks  here  given  are  more 
theoretical  than  practical,  for  some  will  be  4£"  wide,  while 
others  may  be  4J"  or  5",  and  vary  in  thickness  from  2£"  to  3". 

The  inside  lining  in  this  case  can  also  be  replaced  without 
disturbing  the  2"  lining.  The  inside  lining  should  not  be 
allowed  to  run  too  long  before  replacing,  because  when  it  is 
allowed  to  go  beyond  a  certain  limit,  pieces  of  the  bricks  will 
flake  off,  mixing  with  the  melted  iron,  forming  an  excess  of 
slag,  causing  a  retarding  of  the  melting  process,  and  produc- 
ing dirty  castings.  The  destruction  of  the  cupola  goes  on 
more  rapidly  under  the  conditions  named. 

A  slag  hole  should  be  applied  to  cupolas  in  machine  foun- 
dries, as  it  is  very  essential  in  keeping  the  cupola  clean 
and  forwarding  the  melting  when  using  dirty  or  burned 
scrap  iron,  or  bad  fuel.  Any  of  the  foregoing  substances 
would  tend  to  make  plenty  of  slag,  particularly  during  a 
large  heat.  Even  with  a  small  heat  there  is  more  or  less 
formed  ;  and  there  are  many  cupolas  where  the  slagging  is  all 
done  through  the  tapping  hole,  which  is  a  very  dirty  process, 
besides  burning  up  the  ladles  when  there  is  much  slag.  The 


THE   TUYERES    AND   LINING   OF   A   CUPOLA.  313 

proper  place  for  a  slag  hole  is  behind  the  cupola,  because  it 
is  out  of  the  way.  It  should  be  located  from  two  to  four 
inches  below  the  tuyeres.  When  slag  is  forming,  and  it  is 
desired  to  let  it  out,  the  cupola  should  not  be  tapped  until 
the  slag  has  reached  the  level  of  the  slag  hole ;  the  hole 
may  then  be  opened  and  the  slag  allowed  to  run  until  the 
iron  appears,  when  the  hole  should  be  stopped. 

The  spout  should  then  be  tapped,  and  from  300  Ibs.  to 
800  Ibs.  of  iron  allowed  to  run  out  according  to  the  size  of 
the  cupola.  The  iron  should  then  be  stopped,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  the  slag  hole  should  again  be  opened,  after  which 
from  one  to  five  tons  of  iron  may  be  melted  without  the  ne- 
cessity of  opening  the  slag  hole  again. 

During  some  heats  it  becomes  necessary  to  slag  out  several 
times — depending  upon  circumstances.  A  slag  hole  should 
not  be  located  directly  beneath  a  tuyere,  as  the  blast 
would  drive  the  slag  back,  preventing  it  from  coming  out. 
I  believe  that  if  foundrymen  who  have  been  accustomed  to 
slag  out  at  the  tapping  hole  would  adopt  the  plan  of  a  sepa- 
rate slag  hole,  they  would  be  so  pleased  that  they  would 
never  think  of  returning  to  their  old  methods. 
14 


314  PREPARING   CUPOLAS. 


PREPARING  CUPOLAS. 

THE  various  odd  shapes  given  to  foundry  cupolas  are  gen- 
erally the  result  of  circumstances. 

There  are  traditions  extant  of  men,  who,  in  commencing 
business,  could  not  afford  a  cupola  possessing  the  proper 
qualities  and  improvements  ;  so  barrels  or  tanks  were  lined 
with  bricks  and  clay  by  some,  while  others,  who  were  more 
enterprising,  made  a  square  cupola  of  open  sand-plate  cast- 
ings bolted  together.  These  make-shifts  will  do  for  past 
generations  and  in  localities  where  there  is  a  lack  of  capital. 
But  the  business  man  who  understands  how  to  run  a  foundry 
economically,  insists  upon  having  a  first-class  cupola,  if  it 
is  to  be  had.  There  are  two  principal  styles  of  cupolas,  viz., 
the  oblong  and  round. 

The  former  possesses  the  advantage  of  allowing  whole  pigs 
and  long  pieces  of  iron  to  be  "  charged  up,"  without  requiring 
them  to  be  broken  in  small  pieces  ;  the  latter  style  is,  how- 
ever, more  generally  used.  Cupolas  can  be  used  from  10" 
to  72",  or  even  larger  if  desirable ;  small-sized  cupolas  are 
generally  made  with  swivels,  for  the  purpose  of  dumping 
them  when  they  have  melted  their  small  heat.  The  small 
cupolas -are  only  practicable  for  melting  small  quantities  of 
iron,  as,  for  instance,  casting  some  light  job  or  testing  new 
brands  of  iron.  To  run  a  foundry  with  the  intention  of 
making  money,  no  one  should  start  with  a  cupola  less  than 
20".  The  common  sizes  of  cupolas  range  from  30"  up  to  48" 
(these  measurements  are  inside  diameters).  The  amount 
of  iron  a  cupola  will  melt  depends  greatly  upon  the  man- 


PREPARING   CUPOLAS.  315 

agement.  A  20"  cupola  should  melt  two  tons,  a  30"  five  tons, 
and  a  48"  fifteen  tons.  Improvements  on  the  inside  of  cupolas 
have  been  attempted  in  various  directions,  but  thus  far  the 
common  straight  cupola,  as  shown  in  the  cut,  has  aot  been 
improved  on. 

I  have  often  thought  that  the  simpler  the  construction  of 
a  cupola  the  better  will  be  the  results,  and  the  longer  I  live 
the  more  I  believe  this  to  be  true.  Just  take  a  good  look  at 
the  inside  of  a  choked  cupola,  and  then  think  how  long 
and  how  much  work  it  would  require  to  keep  any  portion  of 
it  in  an  octagonal,  hexagonal,  or  any  analogous  shape,  and  I 
think  you  will  conclude  that  such  forms  were  not  desirable. 
A  plain,  round,  straight-lined  cupola,  made  with  the  bottom 
larger  than  the  top  portion,  is  the  best  for  cupolas  under 
30".  Above  30"  there  will  not  be  any  trouble  from  having 
the  bottom  and  top  of  the  same  diameter  ;  and,  to  my  mind, 
a  cupola  should  not  be  smaller  at  the  tuyere,  unless  more 
than  48"  in  diameter — inside  measurement. 

In  small  cupolas  there  is  generally  difficulty  in  respect  to 
choking,  which  occurs  when  the  cold  blast  has  not  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  fuel  to  make  it  hot  before  it  reaches  the 
center,  and  also  from  the  liability  of  the  pig  and  scrap 
iron  becoming  fast  in  its  downward  flight ;  by  making  these 
small  cupolas  larger  by  3"  or  4"  at  the  bottom  than  at  the 
charging  door,  the  iron  and  fuel  become  looser  as  they  de- 
scend. Larger-sized  cupolas,  made  the  smallest  at  the  tuyeres, 
which  is  the  plan  of  the  McKenzie,  and  is  patented,  gen- 
erally give  good  results,  for  there  is  some  fuel  saved,  and 
the  blast  brought  with  more  force  into  the  center  of  the 
cupola  or  fuel. 

The  height  to  make  cupolas  ranges  from  7  to  14  feet,  the 
height  increasing  as  the  diameter  is  enlarged.  High  cupolas 
confine  or  hold  the  heat,  and  make  the  iron  hotter,  and 
melt  it  faster  when  it  gets  down  to  the  melting  point  than 


316  PREPARING   CUPOLAS. 

low  cupolas.  The  number  and  size  of  tuyeres  the  cupola 
should  have  depends  somewhat  upon  the  shape  and  con- 
struction of  the  tuyeres.  With  a  plain  round  tuyere 

A  20"  cupola  can  have  two  5"  tuyeres 
A  30"  "  "  "  three  5£"  tuyeres 
A  40"  "  "  "  five  5J"  tuyeres 
A  48"  "  "  "  seven  5J"  tuyeres, 

all  evenly  divided  around  the  cupola. 

The  area  of  the  main  pipe  which  carries  the  blast  from 
the  fan  or  blower  to  the  cupola  should,  for  larger-sized 
cupolas,  have  a  greater  area  than  the  tuyeres,  to  give  more 
force  to  the  blast  as  it  passes  into  the  cupola.  Also  all  right 
angled  turns  in  blast  pipes  should  be  avoided,  as  they  break 
the  force  of  the  blast. 

Good  management  in  melting  iron  is  only  indicated  to  the 
observer  by  the  amount  or  weight  of  iron  or  fuel  used  in 
charging  up  a  cupola,  and  the  time  consumed  in  melting. 
This  information  is  good  as  far  as  it  goes.  A  man  know- 
ing this  much,  if  he  had  the  cupola  prepared,  could  charge 
it  up  and  melt  iron,  and  have  a  reasonable  success  so  long 
as  the  grade  of  iron,  fuel,  and  working  conditions  did  not 
change. 

It  is  more  difficult  to  prepare  a  cupola  properly  than  is 
popularly  thought.  The  first  thing  a  cupola  man  generally 
does  in  the  morning  is  to  put  away  his  ladles  and  shanks,  etc., 
and  if  he  has  any  helpers  they  may  assist  him,  or  be  gather- 
ing the  scraps  and  gates.  Some  places  will  "  jingle  "  their 
small  gates  so  as  to  cause  the  cupola  to  melt  faster  and 
cleaner.  After  all  the  tools  are  put  by,  the  melter  will  be 
getting  the  ladles  ready,  while  the  helpers  are  getting  the 
cinders  away  from  the  cupola,  and  mixing  the  clay  for  him. 


PKEPARIKG   CUPOLAS. 


Average  33 


318  PREPARING   CUPOLAS. 

Next  the  melter  will  go  inside  the  cupola  and  pick  it  out  with 
a  small,  sharp  pick,  being  careful  not  to  break  or  disturb 
the  face  of  the  bricks,  for  if  they  can  be  left  with  the  thin, 
glossy  skin  or  cinder  formed  upon  the  surface  of  the  brick 
by  the  use  of  the  fluxes  and  from  the  heat,  it  will  often 
stand  the  fire  and  blast  better  than  some  of  the  clays  used. 
After  the  cupola  is  picked  out  it  must  be  daubed,  and  in 
doing  this  many  melters  think  the  melting  point,  or  that 
part  of  the  inside  that  gets  burned  out,  should  be  filled  up 
so  as  to  be  level  with  the  rest  of  the  inside ;  but  this  should 
never  be  done. 

In  looking  at  the  cut  shown  herewith,  there  is  seen  one 
side  of  the  melting  portion  daubed  up,  so  as  to  fill  up  all 
this  burned  or  melting  surface  even  with  the  upper  and  lower 
parts.  This  is  one  cause  for  cupolas  getting  choked  before 
they  have  run  half  of  the  heat  off  that  they  would  if  daubed 
up  as  shown  on  the  opposite  side  at  Y.  Too  much  clay 
daubed  on  the  lining  will  only  bag  down,  as  shown  at  H, 
and  make  it  too  heavy  to  hang  on  the  lining  or  bricks.  When 
the  blast  is  put  on,  the  commotion  of  the  fuel  and  iron 
against  it  will  soon  start  and  cause  it  to  come  away  from  the 
lining  and  mix  in  with  the  fuel  and  iron  so  as  to  cause  a 
large  amount  of  slag.  It  will  also  form  a  bridge  over  the 
tuyeres,  thereby  preventing  the  blast  from  getting  into  or 
among  the  fuel.  When  this  daubing  falls  off,  the  iron  and 
fuel  will  get  in  over  the  bridge,  and  cool  and  chill  so  as  to 
soon  bung  up  the  cupola,  and  stop  the  melting.  To  properly 
daub  a  cupola  there  should  not  be  more  than  one  inch  of 
clay  on  any  part,  and  when  the  lining  is  burned  out  in 
spots  there  should  be  some  pieces  of  fire-brick  built  in  with 
the  clay,  to  save  having  large  lumps  of  wet  clay  to  dry  and 
to  cause  trouble  when  the  blast  goes  on.  The  melter  should 
be  very  careful  in  mixing  his  clay  to  have  just  the  right 
quantity  of  open  or  sharp  sand  mixed  in  with  it,  as  too  little 


PREPARING   CUPOLAS.  319 

causes  the  clay  when  drying  to  crack  open,  and  too  much 
destroys  the  body  of  the  clay. 

The  best  clay  for  daubing  is  fire  clay.  When  the  melting 
point  or  surface  is  so  badly  burned  oat  that  from  J  to  1  inch 
thickness  of  clay  will  not  keep  the  iron  shell  from  getting 
red  hot,  that  portion  of  the  cupola  should  be  relined  at  once. 

The  lining  of  a  cupola  will  last  twice  as  long  where  good 
fire-clay  is  used  in  preference  to  the  common  clays  so 
frequently  used.  It  costs  more  to  purchase  fire-clay  than 
the  common  red  or  blue  clays  ;  but  as  to  the  question  which 
is  the  cheapest  in  the  end,  it  may  be  noted  how  very  costly 
it  is  to  reline  a  cupola  every  few  months.  When  a  melter 
hi  picking  out  the  cupola  sees  that  it  is  burnt  out  in 
some  places  more  than  in  others,  he  may  be  sure  that  some- 
thing is  wrong ;  either  the  charges  have  not  been  put  in 
evenly,  or  the  cupola  has  not  been  daubed  properly.  These 
two  things  are  sure  to  cause  uneven  melting.  After  the 
cupola  is  daubed,  put  up  the  bottom  ;  this  is  generally  done 
by  propping  up  a  section  or  one  half  of  the  door,  and  then 
shoveling  up  the  sand,  after  which  the  balance  of  the  door 
or  bottom  is  permanently  propped  up  as  shown.  Very  large 
cupolas  sometimes  have  the  drop-door  in  four  sections, 
medium-sized  cupolas  in  two,  and  in  those  under  30"  the 
drop-door  is  made  all  in  one  piece  and  hung  by  two  hinges. 
Drop-doors  are  sometimes  made  of  wrought  or  boiler  iron, 
so  as  to  make  them  lighter  ;  cast-iron  ones  being  too  heavy 
to  put  up  easily. 

The  sand  used  to  make  the  bottom  with  is  picked  up 
from  the  gangways,  or  from  dirt  piles  ;  sand  for  forming 
bottoms  should  not  be  too  loamy,  for  it  would  be  apt  to 
bake  hard,  and  not  allow  a  bottom  to  drop,  especially  in 
small-sized  cupolas.  Many  a  man  has  been  burned  in  en- 
deavoring to  pry  down  baked  bottoms.  It  is  also  bad  to  use 
rotten  or  very  open  sand,  because  the  iron  is  apt  to  wash  it 


320  PREPARING   CUPOLAS. 

away.  It  is  advisable,  after  the  sand  is  rammed  down  and 
the  shape  of  the  bottom  formed,  to  coat  it  with  clay  wash, 
for  by  so  doing  a  firm  crust  will  form  on  the  surface.  The 
sand  should  not  be  too  wet,  or  rammed  too  hard,  as  either 
will  cause  trouble,  just  as  the  bottom  of  a  green  sand  mould 
does  from  wet  sand  or  hard  ramming.  The  author  has  seen 
a  cupola  bottom  blowing  so  that  the  sand  was  lifted  enough 
to  let  the  iron  run  out  at  the  bottom.  A  bottom  should  be 
made  sloping,  as  shown  in  cut;  this  is  to  make  it  certain  that 
the  iron  will  all  run  out.  If  a  bottom  has  too  much  slope  it 
will  cause  the  iron  to  rush  out  with  force,  and  hence  make  it 
difficult  to  stop  it ;  while  if  there  is  not  enough  slope  the  iron 
is  apt  to  choke  up  at  the  breast  or  tapping  hole  when  it  first 
commences  to  melt.  Putting  in  the  front  or  breast  in  a 
cupola  should  always  be  done  intelligently,  or  there  will  be  a 
failure  of  some  kind.  The  front  of  cupolas  is  made  large 
enough  to  admit  shoveling  the  sand  through  them  to  make 
the  bottom  with,  if  desirable.  When  the  lining  of  a  cupola  is 
over  6"  the  brick  had  better  be  cut  away  from  around  the 
front,  so  as  to  form  the  tapping  hole  of  a  proper  length  ;  a 
long  tapping  hole  will  always  be  troublesome  if  the  iron 
chills  in  it,  and  also  it  makes  an  ugly-looking  front.  A 
tapping  hole  should  not  be  over  3"  long,  and  made  with 
clay,  so  that  the  working  of  the  tapping  bar  and  washing 
of  the  iron  will  not  wear  it  away.  The  front  or  breast  can 
be  rammed  with  a  mixture  of  clay  and  new  moulding  sand, 
or  let  the  whole  front,  including  the  tapping  hole,  be 
formed  from  a  stiff  clay.  Some  melters  do  not  put  in  the 
front  until  the  fire  is  started,  using  the  fuel  for  a  backing  to 
ram  against ;  others  will  make  it  half  up  before  putting  in 
the  fuel,  and  then,  after  the  fire  gets  burning  nicely,  they 
will  put  in  their  draw  plug  and  make  up  the  balance. 
A  good  plan  is,  when  the  cupola  is  large  enough,  to  have 
a  board  with  a  hole  to  admit  the  tapping  draw  plug  held 


PREPARING   CUPOLAS.  321 

up  against  the  inside,  while  one  rams  OE  packs  up  the  front 
until  solid,  after  which,  with  a  trowel,  make  the  inside  of 
the  hole  of  a  conical  shape,  as  shown,  and  make  the  clay 
smooth  and  even  with  the  brick-work ;  also  it  is  well  to 
have  some  clay  in  place  of  sand  to  form  the  bottom  for 
4"  or  5"  beyond  the  inside  of  the  breast,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  tapping  bar  from  making  a  hole  in  the  bottom.  For 
small  cupolas  sometimes  a  piece  of  a  board  set  in  against  the 
hot  fuel  is  used  to  form  a  backing  to  ram  or  pack  the  breast 
clay  against.  The  spout  of  a  cupola  is  made  while  the  breast 
is  being  formed,  and  dried  a  little  with  charcoal,  or  some  hot 
coals,  before  the  cupola  is  charged.  In  preparing  a  cupola 
most  every  cupola  man  has  some  method  of  his  own,  for  it 
is  a  branch  of  the  moulder's  trade  that  men  have  generally 
been  left  to  manage  or  pick  up  by  themselves  as  best  they 
may. 


322  FUEL  AND   CHARGING   IRON. 


FUEL  AND  CHARGING  IRON. 

To  melt  iron  we  must  use  fuel,  and  by  the  quality  and  class 
of  fuel  used  the  nature  of  the  iron  is  more  or  less  changed. 
Fuel  that  contains  an  unusual  amount  of  sulphur  will 
always  make  the  iron  hard,  and  also  create  a  quantity  of 
slag.  A  good  method  of  testing  fuel  before  using  is  to 
make  a  piece  red  hot,  and  let  it  drop  into  a  pail  of  water ; 
then  by  practice  it  is  possible  to  tell  by  the  smell  if  it  con- 
tains an  unusual  amount  of  sulphur.  Coal  generally  makes 
a  purer  and  softer  casting  than  coke.  The  percentage 
of  fuel  required  to  melt  iron  depends  upon  the  height  of 
tuyeres,  pressure  of  blast,  and  the  quality  and  grade  of 
iron  used,  as  well  as  on  the  construction  of  the  cupola, 
and  the  quality  of  the  fuel.  With  coal  or  coke  that  is 
hard  and  clear  less  fuel  is  required  than  if  it  is  soft  and 
flaky.  It  requires  more  fuel  to  melt  heavy  iron  than  to 
melt  light,  and  all  pig  iron  requires  more  fuel  than  heavy 
scrap  on  account  of  the  sand  on  the  pigs.  The  stronger  the 
blast  the  higher  it  is  forced  through  the  hot  fuel  before  it 
becomes  heated  by  its  union  with  the  fuel  to  its  greatest 
temperature.  When  there  is  too  much  fuel  for  a  bed  we  do 
not  obtain  the  full  benefit  of  the  greatest  point  of  tempera- 
ture, as  the  iron  is  raised  up  above  it,  and  since  it  melts  at 
a  decreased  temperature  it  will  not  melt  so  fast.  The  same 
is  true  when  the  bed  or  fuel  is  lower  than  this  point,  and  it 
is  worse  to  have  a  low  bed  than  a  high  one,  for  a  low  bed 
will  cause  dull  iron.  For  the  iron,  when  it  is  melted,  is  not 


FUEL   AND    CHARGING   IRON".  323 

obliged  to  drop  through  this  greatest  point  of  temperature, 
as  iron  does  when  melted  upon  the  high  bed,  and  further, 
the  blast  is  colder  in  the  low  bed  than  in  a  high  one.  A 
workman,  to  do  RAPID  or  ECONOMICAL  melting,  should  vary 
the  height  of  his  bed  until  he  gets  the  iron  hot  enough  and 
melting  in  the  fastest  time.  He  should  also  be  careful  in 
the  management  of  the  cupola,  and  particular  in  charging  it. 
There  are  hardly  two  cupolas  that  will  be  found  to  have  the 
same  blast  pressure.  Attached  to  the  last  cupola  is  a  water 
glass  tube  inserted  in  the  wind  box,  with  a  cork  on  its  end  to 
prevent  its  breaking.  A  tube  thus  applied  and  filled  with  water 
will  show  in  inches  the  pressure  of  the  blast  on  the  outside  of 
the  cupola ;  but  to  determine  the  inside  pressure  is  a  hard 
matter,  for  the  inside  diameter  of  the  cupola  and  size  of  the 
tuyeres  will  always  cause  the  pressure  to  vary.  It  is  not 
always  true  when  the  pressure  is  high  on  the  outside  that  it 
is  the  same  on  the  inside.  There  will  generally  be  the  most 
pressure  shown  toward"  the  latter  end  of  a  heat,  and  this  is 
caused  by  the  tuyeres  and  fuel  in  the  front  of  them  being 
choked  more  as  the  melting  increases.  The  pressure  of  blasts 
used  will  be  found  to  vary  from  eight  to  twenty  inches.  It 
requires  a  stronger  blast  to  melt  iron  with  coal  than  with  coke. 
A  weak  blast  will  cause  slow  melting,  and  too  strong  a  blast 
is  apt  to  harden  the  iron  and  make  slag,  since  its  power  will 
cut  the  clay  and  lining.  Coke  will  melt  iron  faster  than  coal, 
and  a  cupola  should  melt  longer  with  coal  than  with  coke. 

Coke  and  coal  are  often  used  together.  In  sections  where 
coal  is  the  more  expensive  of  the  two,  some  foundries  make 
a  practice  of  filling  up  to  the  bottom  of  the  tuyeres  with 
coke,  and  then  making  the  balance  of  the  bed  all  coal ;  and 
between  the  charges  of  iron  they  will  throw  in  from  one 
fourth  to  onethird  the  amount  of  coal  to  that  of  coke,  put- 
ting the  coal  in  first,  which  is  a  good  plan  to  adopt  in  coke 
sections  when  there  is  a  very  large  heat  required.  Again, 


324  FUEL   AND    CHAKGING   IKON. 

some  will  use  all  coke  for  the  bed,  and  use  a  little  coal 
between  the  charges,  and  others  will  have  the  order  changed, 
using  some  coal  on  the  bed  and  none  between  the  charges. 
The  height  of  fuel  required  to  form  the  bed  is  lower  for 
coal  than  coke  ;  eighteen  inches  is  about  the  average  height 
for  coke,  and  twelve  inches  for  coal.  Above  the  top  of  the 
tuyeres  medium-sized  fuel  will  give  better  results  than  largo 
lumps  of  coal  or  coke.  The  medium  fuel  makes  a  hotter 
and  more  compact  fire.  Imperfectly  started  fires  have 
often  caused  many  bad  castings.  Melters  are  often  seen 
putting  on  a  weak  blast  to  make  their  fire  burn  up,  so  that 
they  can  commence  charging  up  their  iron,  and  often- 
times melters  cannot  obtain  dry  kindling  wood  enough  to 
properly  start  the  fuel.  But  as  a  general  thing  the  melter  is 
to  blame  for  the  careless  manner  in  which  he  goes  about 
his  work.  Sometimes  he  will  not  take  the  pains  to  split  up 
planks  or  timber  as  small  as  they  should  be  ;  again,  he  will 
not  have  enough  shavings  to  properly  start  his  wood,  or  he 
may  have  a  lot  of  short  pieces  of  wood  or  blocks,  and  he 
will  put  them  into  his  cupola  in  such  a  manner  that  a 
stranger  would  think  he  was  trying  to  see  how  small  a 
space  he  could  pack  them  into  ;  or  again,  he  will  not  have 
wood  enough  to  get  the  fuel  properly  lighted,  or  the  fuel 
will  only  be  burning  on  one  side.  To  properly  start  a  fire  a 
good  melter  always  tries  to  have  a  well-dried  supply  of  kin- 
dlings on  hand,  and  not  wait  until  he  wants  to  use  it,  and 
then  take  the  first  thing  he  comes  across,  even  if  it  is  wet. 
Kindling  wood  is  effective  when  split  up  in  long  strips,  and 
placed  endways  on  a  slant  against  the  side  of  the  cupola  so 
as  to  protect  the  daubing  as  well  as  to  catch  fire  better ;  and 
if  small  pieces  are  used,  let  them  be  laid  in  the  middle  as 
open  as  possible,  and  on  top  of  this  kindling  do  not  place 
any  more  fuel  than  is  necessary  to  kindle  additional  fuel 
after  the  wood  is  all  burnt  out.  Too  much  fuel  at  first 


FUEL   AND   CHARGING   IRON.  325 

has  pat  many  fires  out,  or  made  them  burn  poorly.  If  a 
fire  does  not  kindle  at  first,  there  is  often  dull  iron  all 
through  the  heat,  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  overcome  it.  The 
proper  time  to  start  a  fire  depends  upon  the  class  of  fuel 
used.  A  hard  coke  or  coal  fire  should  be  started  sooner 
than  a  light  or  porous  fuel  fire,  for  the  hard  fuel  requires 
longer  in  order  to  get  it  started  properly ;  but  if  the  same 
time  be  given  with  softer  fuel,  much  of  its  life  would  be 
burnt  out  before  the  blast  was  put  on.  A  fire  should  be 
started  soon  enough  to  get  a  cupola  well  heated  up  before 
any  iron  is  charged.  About  the  average  time  of  starting 
fires  is  about  two  hours  before  the  iron  is  charged,  and  the 
iron  is  better  to  be  charged  about  one  hour  before  the  blast 
goes  on,  as  by  so  doing  it  will  get  heated  and  melt  faster. 
Upon  the  bed  of  fuel  in  a  cupola  is  where  iron  is  melted,  and 
the  height  of  this  bed  should  be  kept  even  with  the  melting 
point  until  the  latter  end  of  the  heat,  when  it  can  be  allowed 
to  become  lower.  To  keep  up  this  bed  there  is  fuel  put 
between  the  charges  of  iron,  and  as  they  melt  the  fuel  comes 
down  on  the  sinking  bed  and  raises  it  up  to  its  proper  point. 
By  the  amount  of  fuel  charged  between  the  charges  of  iron 
the  character  of  the  melting  will  be  much  regulated.  To 
make  even  and  regular  melting  throughout  a  heat  the  melter 
should  know  what  percentage  of  fuel  it  requires  to  melt  a 
hundred  pounds  of  iron  when  charging,  in  order  to  replenish 
the  consumption  of  fuel  on  the  bed.  To  know  the  proper 
percentage  to  use,  the  melter  must  rely  on  experience  as 
practiced  in  his  own  cupola. 

The  weight  of  iron  to  use  in  making  charges  generally 
depends  upon  the  class  of  fuel  used,  and  on  the  diameter  of 
the  cupola.  With  coal,  charges  need  to  be  made  larger  than 
with  coke.  With  fifty  pounds  of  coke  between  five  hundred 
pound  charges  of  iron,  in  the  size  of  the  cupola  shown,  we 
have  enough  fuel  to  cover  the  iron  over  and  separate  one 


326  FUEL   AND   CHARGING   IRON. 

charge  from  another.  But  were  the  charges  thus  made 
with  coal,  the  coal  would  not  separate  the  charges,  and 
the  iron  would  appear  as  if  it  was  one  solid  body,  from 
the  charging  door  down  to  the  bed.  So  that  in  order 
to  successfully  melt  iron  with  coal,  we  must  have  more 
iron  in  the  charges,  in  order  to  have  the  right  percent- 
age of  coal  to  spread  over  all  the  iron,  and  to  be  strong 
enough  to  distinctly  separate  the  charges  of  iron.  For 
a  small  30"  cupola,  as  shown,  when  coke  is  used,  the 
charges  of  iron  may  be  five  hundred  pounds  each ;  but 
where  coal  is  used  the  charges  could  be  twelve  hundred 
pounds  of  iron. 

As  to  which  requires  the  largest  percentage  of  coke  or  coal 
to  melt  iron,  there  seems  to  be  a  great  difference  in  practice 
and  in  opinions,  but  in  many  cases  the  quantity  of  the  fuel 
is  the  regulator.  As  a  general  thing  with  melters  that  weigh 
their  fuel,  and  sometimes  change  from  one  fuel  to  another, 
they  use  the  same  weight  of  coal  as  they  do  of  coke.  In  melt- 
ing a  heat  of  four  tons  in  the  cupola  shown,  there  should  be 
twelve  hundred  pounds  of  coke  used  to  do  it,  or  with  coal 
the  same  weight  of  twelve  hundred  pounds  would  be  used. 
Again,  there  are  places  where  they  will  use  a  less  percentage 
of  coal  than  of  coke,  but  as  a  general  thing  the  percentage 
is  a  trifle  larger  of  coal,  since  it  takes  a  little  more  to  make 
the  bed  the  height  required  ;  for  heavy  heats  the  charges 
of  fuel  should  be  larger  than  for  light  ones.  The  reason 
for  not  showing  a  cupola  of  larger  diameter  is  because 
the  writer  believes  there  is  more  skill  required  to  successfully 
melt  iron  in  small  cupolas  than  in  a  large  one.  For  a  large 
cupola  will  stand  some  improper  handling,  and  show  no  very 
bad  results,  but  any  improper  management  in  a  small  cupola 
will  be  sure  to  cause  more  or  less  trouble. 

The  weights  of  the  charges  in  a  cupola  will  permit  mucli 
variation  without  bad  results.  Among  half  a  dozen  cupolas 


FUEL  AND   CHARGING  IRON.  327 

like  the  one  shown,  it  would  not  be  strange  to  see  them 
charged  with  different  weights  of  charges.  In  melting 
iron,  the  beginner  must  observe  the  following  rules.  If 
all  coke  is  used,  be  sure  it  is  about  18"  above  the  top  of  the 
tuyeres,  and  burning  evenly  throughout.  Upon  this  bed  put 
the  first  charge  of  iron,  which  can  be  from  five  to  fifteen 
hundred  pounds ;  then,  if  there  are  any  heavy  pieces  of  iron 
to  be  melted,  put  them  in  the  second  charge,  since  if  heavy 
pieces  of  iron  are  placed  in  the  first  charge,  or  upon  the  bed, 
there  is  danger  they  will  sink  to  the  level  of  the  tuyeres,  and 
from  this  cause  a  cupola  will  soon  get  choked;  the  weight  of 
the  second  and  of  remainder  of  the  charges  should  run  from 
five  up  to  ten  hundred  ;  and  to  be  safe  as  to  the  amount  of 
fuel,  use  fourteen  pounds  of  coke  to  every  hundred  pounds 
of  iron,  if  the  charge  is  ten  hundred  of  iron,  and  let  one 
hundred  and  forty  pounds  of  coke  be  used  between  them. 
If  all  coal  be  used,  let  its  bed  be  about  12"  above  the  tuyeres, 
and  let  the  first  charge  range  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
hundred  pounds,  and  the  remainder  of  the  charges  range 
from  ten  hundred  up  to  twenty  hundred,  the  percentage  of 
coal  between  the  charges  being  about  the  same  as  that  of 
coke.  After  two  or  three  heats  have  run  off,  commence  to  use 
less  fuel,  and  at  the  same  time  carefully  change  the  weight  of 
charges  until  the  best  results  as  regards  economy  of  fuel 
and  hot  iron  are  obtained.  If  the  cupola  is  a  larger  one 
than  shown,  have  the  fuel  the  same  height  above  the  tuyeres, 
and  use  the  same  percentage  of  fuel  between  the  charges,  and 
also  grade  the  charges  of  iron  heavier  in  proportion  as  the 
cupola  increases  in  diameter.  Some  make  the  charges  the 
same  weight  through  the  heat,  while  others  will  make  every 
other  charge  lighter.  For  the  last  charge  or  two  of  iron  the 
percentage  of  fuel  can  be  decreased,  that  is,  if  the  bed  is  in  no 
danger  of  getting  down  too  near  the  tuyeres  before  the  last 
charges  are  melted.  There  can  be  more  economy  in  fuel 


328  FUEL  AND   CHARGING   IRON. 

practiced  by  having  heavy  charges  than  by  light  ones  ;  but 
it  is  not  every  foundry  that  can  work  heavy  charges,  on  ac- 
count of  their  having  different  grades  of  iron  to  melt  during 
the  same  heat. 

In  melting  iron  it  is  often  a  great  benefit  to  use  a  flux  so 
as  to  clean  or  separate  the  impurities  from  the  iron,  and  at 
the  same  time  make  it  more  fluid.  A  great  many  foundries 
use  limestone  or  oyster  shells  as  a  flux,  while  others  will  use 
fluor-spar.  There  are  also  some  patent  fluxes  in  the  market, 
for  which  great  merit  is  claimed.  Among  them  is  one  pa- 
tented by  Edward  Kirk,  of  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  the  author  of  an 
instructive  work  on  founding  of  Metals. 

The  patentees  of  fluxes  claim  that  the  use  of  oyster  shells 
or  limestone  destroys  rather  than  benefits  the  iron,  and 
their  fluxes  do  the  iron  good  by  making  it  stronger  and 
softer,  while  the  use  of  too  much  limestone  or  oyster  shells 
will  make  the  iron  hard  ;  yet  it  answers  the  purpose  intended 
in  some  cases,  but  oyster  shells  are  better  than  limestone. 
In  fluxing  with  either  limestone  or  the  oyster  shells,  they 
should  seldom  be  used  until  the  latter  part  of  a  heat,  as  they 
will  then  help  to  clean  out  the  cupola  and  make  it  drop  better. 
Limestone  should  be  broken  up  to  egg  size,  and  thrown 
among  the  iron  ;  a  riddleful  being  sufficient  to  flux  a  heat 
of  three  or  four  tons.  A  shovelful  of  oyster  shells  thrown 
in  on  the  last  charge  of  fuel  is  a  good  thing  to  help  to  clean 
out  a  cupola,  as  it  will  glaze  the  lining  and  make  the  cinders 
easier  to  put  out.  FLUOR-SPAR  can  be  used  throughout  a 
whole  heat,  as  it  has  not  the  hardening  qualities  which  the 
lime  or  shells  possess,  and  is  a  good  flux  for  general  use.  The 
melting  point  in  a  cupola  is  that  portion  'of  the  lining  which 
is  burned  out  more  than  the  rest,  and  also  that  point  at  which 
from  the  highest  temperature  there  is  the  most  melting  done. 
The  melting  point  or  portion  of  a  cupola  ranges  from  6 
inches  to  2  to  3  feet  above  the  tuyeres,  and  the  iron  is  some- 


FUEL  AND   CHARGING   IRON.  329 

times  melted  in  the  lowest  portion,  as  well  as  at  the  middle 
or  highest  point.  As  the  height  at  which  iron  may  melt  is 
often  sufficient  to  contain  two  or  three  small  charges  of  iron 
and  fuel,  it  is  not  a  hard  matter  to  see  the  cause  of  different 
grades  of  iron  getting  mixed. 

There  will  be  more  damage  done  at  this  point  by  blowing, 
or  having  the  blast  on,  when  the  iron  is  all  melted,  than  a 
dozen  heats  would  do  if  the  bottom  is  dropped,  and  having, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  cupola,  from  two  up  to  ten  hun- 
dred pounds  of  iron  in  the  cupola. 

Wherever  the  blast  goes  in  a  cupola,  it  cools  off  the  fuel, 
and  the  melting  iron,  dropping  down  from  above,  falls  upon 
this  lifeless  fuel  and  is  soon  chilled  by  the  direct  force  of  the 
cold  blast.  This  state  of  affairs,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end,  keeps  all  the  time  getting  worse  in  the  large  cupola  as 
well  as  in  the  small  one.  In  the  large  cupola,  however,  there 
is  more  chance  of  the  blast  losing  its  force  and  coldness  be- 
fore it  reaches  the  center,  so  that  the  fuel  is  given  a  better 
chance  for  thorough  combustion.  This  permits  of  running 
a  large  cupola  longer  than  a  small  one  can  be  run. 

As  soon  as  a  cupola  begins  to  get  black  and  cold  at  the 
tuyeres,  we  say  it  is  choking.  This  is  true  ;  and  not  only  is 
the  entrance  being  choked,  but  in  the  course  of  time  the 
whole  surface  parallel  with  the  tuyeres  will  be  in  the  same 
condition,  and  as  it  increases  the  slower  will  be  the  melting, 
until  no  melting  can  be  done.  We  then  drop  the  bottom 
and  have  a  good  time  trying  to  get  a  hole  through  the  choked 
cupola. 

There  are  other  things  besides  blast  that  help  to  choke  a 
cupola,  such  as  improper  charging,  dirty  iron  and  fuel,  etc. ; 
but,  allowing  that  everything  is  done  right,  the  cold  blast 
will  of  itself  accomplish  it  in  the  course  of  time. 

Whenever  a  tuyere  is  getting  dark  or  choked,  it  should 
be  opened,  the  cold  black  fuel  and  chilled  iron  be  driven 


330  FUEL  AKD   CHARGING   IROH. 

with  a  bar  towards  the  center  of  the  hot  fuel ;  this  will 
reheat  the  cold  fuel  and  iron.  It  is  occasionally  a  good  plan  to 
stop  one  of  the  tuyeres  at  a  time  with  clay,  and  this  will  pre- 
vent the  cold  blast  from  getting  in  at  this  point,  and  allow  the 
fuel  to  become  rekindled  after  a  few  minutes  ;  then  the  tuyere 
is  reopened,  and  another  one  stopped  up,  and  going  thus  all 
around  to  every  tuyere.  For  very  large  heats  this  operation 
might  require  to  be  repeated  several  times.  In  charging  a 
cupola  it  should  be  kept  full  of  iron  until  it  is  all  in,  and  at 
the  latter  end,  should  there  be  any  serious  signs  of  its  be- 
coming choked,  it  is  the  best  plan  to  drop  the  bottom  if 
possible.  In  order  to  have  cupolas  work  well,  cleanness  in 
their  management  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  The  fuel 
should  be  free  from  £.11  dust  or  dirt,  and  the  iron  have  as 
little  sand  on  it  as  possible.  To  look  on  a  cupola  staging  is 
proof  of  the  working  of  a  cupola ;  if  everything  appears  in  a 
dirty  and  disorderly  state,  it  is  in  most  cases  safe  to  conclude 
that  the  melting  is  not  done  in  a  scientific  manner.  What- 
ever knowledge  there  is  on  the  subject  of  melting  iron  has 
for  the  most  part  been  obtained  from  individual  investigation 
and  practice  ;  and  that  man  is  the  best  melter  who  has  studied 
the  cause  and  effect,  and  reached  a  careful  and  well-founded 
conclusion  in  everything  that  has  to  be  done  from  the  time  he 
begins  to  pick  out  his  cupola  until  he  drops  the  bottom. 


TAPPING   OUT  A1U)   STOPPING    UP  CUPOLAS.  331 


TAPPING  OUT  AND  STOPPING  UP  CUPOLAS. 

THERE  is  nothing  that  will  at  times  cause  more  excitement 
in  a  foundry  than  the  tapping  out  and  stopping  up  of  the 
cupola,  and  sometimes  the  situation  is  more  serious  than 
comical.  The  comical  part  is  to  see  the  melter,  when  the 
cupola  is  nearly  or  quite  full  of  iron,  tapping  out  into  two 
or  three  small  ladles,  and  when  he  goes  to  stop  up,  the  clay 
falls  off  the  bod-stick  or  gets  washed  away.  The  iron  flows 
over  the  ladle,  and  a  spark  finds  lodging  down  the  man's 
back  that  is  holding  it,  and  he  lets  go  the  ladle  to  dispossess 
the  hot  lodger.  The  foreman,  who  is  standing  by  a  large 
casting  being  poured,  yells  out  for  the  cupola  to  be  stopped 
up ;  the  melter  gets  excited,  runs  the  bod-stick  without  any 
clay  on  it  into  the  running  iron  ;  the  sparks  fly  and  the  iron 
runs  around  his  feet.  He  thinks  of  his  home  or  family,  and 
gets  out  of  it  as  soon  as  he  can.  The  foreman,  thinking  the 
situation  is  getting  serious,  runs  from  the  riser  he  is  watch- 
ing to  go  to  the  cupola,  and  when  half  way  there  he  hears 
yells  for  water  and  sand,  and,  looking  back,  he  sees  the  cope 
strained  and  iron  running  out  ;  at  which  point,  if  he  is  a 
man  that  swears,  he  will  exhaust  the  whole  vocabulary  in  a 
very  short  time.  His  orders  to  stop  the  blast  ;  get  water  ; 
go  to  the  fire  alarm — are  no  sooner  issued  to  some  trembling 
being  than  he  hears  the  moulder  cry  out  for  more  iron,  and 
looks  towards  the  cupola,  at  which  moment  a  sight  of  his 
face  when  he  sees  the  cupola  empty  and  standing  in  a  pool 
of  boiling  iron,  would  never  be  forgotten. 

Such  occurrences   as    these  are  frequent.     I  have    seen 


332  TAPPING   OUT  AND  STOPPING  UP  CUPOLAS. 

men  burned,  castings  lost,  and  the  shop  in  great  danger  of 
being  burned  through  excitement  around  a  cupola.  Some- 
times it  will  be  caused  by  the  iron  not  being  carried  away 
fast  enough,  but  in  most  cases  it  is  the  melter's  fault.  Go 
into  some  foundries  and  you  will  see  the  melter  running  his 
tapping  bar  into  the  tapping  hole,  as  shown  (in  cut)  at  D. 
A  stranger  seeing  him  would  think  that  he  was  trying  to 
knock  or  push  in  the  front  breast. 

The  position  of  the  tapping  bar  as  shown  at  X  is,  I  think, 
a  more  scientific  one,  for  instead  of  trying  to  ram  the  clay 
into  the  cupola,  the  bar  should  be  held  so  as  to  dig  it  out, 
or  tear  it  away  at  the  outside  edges  of  the  hole,  so  that  the 
pressure  of  the  melted  iron  will  push  out  the  center.  In 
tapping  out  this  way  you  are  always  digging  out  the  old 
stopping,  and  keeping  a  clean  hole,  and  doing  it  with  less 
labor,  sledge  hammering,  and  burning  away  the  tapping 
bars,  than  in  any  other  way  I  know  of. 

I  have  seen  melters  have  their  tapping  holes,  before  a 
heat  was  through,  choked  4"  or  5",  and  every  time  they 
tapped  out  they  would  have  a  man  or  two  striking  or 
knocking  the  bar  into  the  breast  with  heavy  sledge  hammers, 
and  when  in  it  would  take  four  or  five  men  to  pull  it  out. 

Of  course,  there  is  sometimes  iron  and  scrap  used  that 
will  make  a  deal  of  slag,  and  it  is  hard  work  to  keep  a  breast 
or  tapping  hole  clean,  and  melters  are  often  exhausted  in 
trying  to  do  so.  If  they  would  only  once  adopt  the  plan 
here  described,  they  would  be  astonished  at  the  ease  with 
which  they  could  do  their  tapping. 

In  tapping  out  a  cupola  for  the  first  ladle,  there  is  often 
trouble  on  account  of  the  iron  not  melting  as  fast  as  it  ought 
to,  or  as  fast  as  it  will  after  a  few  minutes.  The  iron, 
especially  if  hard,  chills  in  the  hole,  and  when  tapping  out  I 
have  ofton  seen  the  whole  breast  knocked  in  to  get  the  iron 
out.  To  remedy  this,  take  a  one  inch  round  core,  4"  or  5" 


TAPPING   OUT   AND   STOPPING    UP  CUPOLAS.  333 


334          TAPPING   OUT   AND   STOPPING   UP  CUPOLAS. 

long,  made  with  plenty  of  sea-coal  or  blacking,  and  when 
the  iron  is  melting  or  at  a  fair  stream,  take  the  core  and 
push  it  into  the  hole,  stop  over  it,  and  when  you  take  out 
for  the  first  ladle  you  will  have  no  trouble. 

There  is  another  thing  a  great  many  melters  have  a  habit 
of  doing  when  stopping  up  a  cupola.  That  is,  they  will 
push  the  stopping  against  the  running  stream  to  get  the  hole 
stopped  up,'  which  always  causes  a  splatter,  and  sometimes 
washes  the  stopping  off  the  stick ;  whereas,  if  they  would 
hold  the  stopping  above  the  stream,  and  when  near  the  hole 
push  it  down  on  a  slant,  they  would  not  be  so  liable  to  burn 
any  one,  let  the  ladles  flow  over,  or,  worse  yet,  let  all  the 
iron  run  out  on  the  floor,  which  often  results  in  large  loss. 

The  mixtures  of  stopping  have  often  a  deal  to  do  with 
accidents  and  trouble.  About  the  best  stopping  for  ordinary 
purposes  is  new  moulding  sand  dampened  with  clay  wash. 
This  will  not  make  the  iron  fly,  and  will  tap  out  easy.  If 
clay  is  used,  it  is  a  good  thing  to  mix  in  some  horse  manure 
or  sea-coal.  This  will  keep  the  clay  from  baking  so  hard, 
and  make  it  tap  easy. 

Instead  of  having  the  bod-sticks  allwood,  the  cut  B  shows 
an  iron  nipple  made  to  fit  on  the  end  of  a  wooden  stick. 
This  will  save  sticks,  and  should  the  stopping  fall  or  wash 
off  the  iron  it  will  not  fly  so  much.  At  H  is  shown  a 
gouge-shaped  end  of  a  steel  tapping  bar,  which  is  very 
handy. 

The  stand  shown  is  a  rigging  that  I  made  one  day  in  open 
sand  after  the  blast  went  on.  The  top  plate  was  cast  first, 
and  four  half  inch  round  rods  cast  in  it,  and  when  set 
enough  turned  upside  down  and  the  rods  cast  into  the  bot- 
tom plate.  In  the  top  there  is  a  pocket,  cast  for  holding 
the  wrought  iron  arms  A,  A,  which  were  made  of  J"  iron, 
with  a  shoulder  to  keep  them  from  dropping  down.  When 
not  in  use,  they  could  be  reversed  or  taken  out  of  the  way. 


TAPPING   OUT   AND   STOPPING    UP   CUPOLAS.  335 

On  the  top,  P,  is  a  box  for  holding  the  stopping,  and  under- 
neath is  kept  a  pail  of  water  for  dipping  the  bars  into. 
The  arms,  A,  A,  form  a  rest  for  holding  the  tapping  bars  and 
stopping  sticks.  The  stand  complete  does  not  weigh  over 
seventy-five  pounds,  and  I  find  it  handier  than  using  barrels, 
boxes,  or  things  commonly  used  for  such  purposes. 


336  AIR   FURNACES. 


AIR  FURNACES. 

To  many  foundrymen  the  air  furnace  is  a  stranger. 
There  are  very  few  shops  that  have  them.  They  are  used 
for  melting  heavy  bodies  of  scrap  iron,  and  for  melting  iron 
for  heavy  castings.  The  difference  between  melting  iron  in 
air  furnaces  and  cupola  is,  that  in  the  cupola  the  iron  is 
melted  by  being  mixed  with  or  on  top  of  the  fuel.  To 
have  sufficient  draft  to  cause  a  high  temperature  the  air  is 
forced  into  the  fuel  by  the  aid  of  fans  or  blowers,  but  with 
melting  iron  in  air  furnaces  the  fuel  is  entirely  distinct  and 
away  from  the  iron  ;  and  to  get  a  sufficient  supply  of  air  to 
combine  with  the  fuel  a  very  high  chimney  is  used,  the  fire 
being  at  one  end  and  the  chimney  at  the  other.  The  iron  is 
melted  by  having  the  flame  and  heat  drawn  over  it.  The 
fuel  that  will  produce  the  most  flame  is  the  best,  and  there 
are  different  styles  of  furnaces  in  use.  Some  have  the  iron 
piled  up  at  the  end  nearest  to  the  fire,  and  the  iron  as  it  melts 
runs  down  an  inclined  bed  into  a  well  from  which  it  is 
tapped  into  ladles.  Another  style  is  to  have  the  iron  melted 
at  the  end  furthest  from  the  fire,  and  as  it  melts  it  runs 
into  a  basin  midway  between  the  iron  and  the  fire.  The 
author  worked  in  a  shop  that  melted  up  old  brass  in  a  small 
furnace  after  this  manner.  Although  furnaces  differ  in 
construction  they  all  do  their  melting  by  having  the  flame 
and  heat  drawn  in  among  the  iron.  The  style  of  furnace 
section  shown  in  the  cut  is  similar  to  that  in  general  use. 
A  furnace  of  the  dimensions  given  should  be  capable  of 
melting  from  twelve  to  fifteen  tons  of  iron.  The  charging 


AIR   FURNACES.  337 

door,  chimney,  and  firing  places  are  very  seldom  situated 
alike,  since  the  laying  out  of  the  shop  and  surroundings  will 
cause  changes.     Sometimes  a  furnace  can  be  easier  charged 
if  the  door  is  at  the  end  instead  of  the  side,  as  shown,  and 
for  facility  for  firing  it  is  sometimes  better  to  have  the  door 
on  the  end.     The  firing  door  is  sometimes  on  the  end,  and 
the  charging  door  on  the  side,  and  again  this  order  will  be 
reversed.  When  the  charging  door  is  on  the  end,  the  chimney 
is  then  on  the  side,  and  there  is  more  economy  in  fuel  to  have 
the  chimney  on  the  end,  as  more  space  can  be  used  to  hold 
iron.     Chimneys  should  have  about  the  same  area  inside  as 
the  grate  surface  contains,  and  should  be  high  enough  to  give 
a  strong  draught.     Some   furnaces  will  require  a  higher 
chimney  than  others,  on  account  of  the  shop  being  located 
in  some  valley,  or  alongside  of  some  hill  or  bank.    Charging 
doors  should  be  made  so  that  they  can  swing  to  and  from 
the  furnace,  and  be  as  large  as  possible.     The  author  has 
seen  a  furnace  that  used  for  a  door  one  side  of  the  furnace, 
which  opened  for  over  half  of  its  bed's  length,  and  after  the 
furnace  was  charged  the  opening  was  all  tightly  built  up 
with  fire-brick.     A  very  important  feature  in  constructing 
furnaces  is  to  have  a  good  solid  foundation  under  them.  On 
one  occasion  when  the  melter  went  to  tap  out  he  was  sur- 
prised at  finding  there  was  no  iron  in  the  furnace.     It  had 
found  a  weak  spot,  and  suddenly  it  leaked  out.     It  proved 
on  inquiry  that  this  same  thing  had  happened  once  before. 
It  was  stated  to  the  author  that  there  must  be  over  thirty 
tons  of  iron  buried  below  the  furnace,  all  caused  by  its  having 
a  poor  foundation.     It  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  earth 
how  deep  down  the  foundation  should  go.     The  stone  or 
brick  foundation  is  built  up  within  about  one  foot  of  the 
top  bed,  so  as  to  allow  a  good  bed  of  sand  to  be  made  to 
form  the  bottom  with,  as  shown.     Some  will  lay  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  stone  or  brick  foundation  a  coke  or  cinder  bed,  to 
15 


338  AIR  FURNACES. 

help  take  the  gases  and  steam  off  from  the  bottom  sand.  In 
building  a  furnace  the  best  of  fire-brick  should  be  used  for 
forming  the  inside  with,  and  furnaces  should  be  made  with 
at  least  a  twelve-inch  wall ;  while  the  inside  eight  inches 
must  be  fire-brick,  the  outside  four  inches  could  be  built 
up  with  common  red  bricks,  and  the  top  of  the  furnaces 
should  be  built  in  the  form  of  an  arch,  and  the  whole  fur- 
nace should  be  well  bound  with  cast-iron  plates  and  binders 
bolted  together.  Care  should  also  be  taken  that  no  opening 
or  crack  exists  in  any  form,  since  if  any  cold  air  gets  into  a 
furnace  while  it  is  in  heat  it  will  be  apt  to  make  trouble. 

When  preparing  a  furnace  any  parts  that  may  be  burnt 
out  are  daubed  with  fire-clay.  There  is  a  melting  point  in  a 
furnace  as  in  a  cupola,  but  in  the  furnace  it  is  that  point 
which  is  on  a  level  with  the  iron  when  melted.  It  does  not 
burn  out  so  much  as  cupolas  do,  but  nevertheless  it  requires 
as  careful  daubing  as  a  cupola  does.  In  putting  a  bed  or 
bottom  in  a  furnace,  it  can  be  raised  or  lowered  according  to 
the  amount  of  iron  required  to  be  melted,  varying  from  two 
to  five  tons  more  than  its  average.  The  lowest  point  of  the  bed 
is  at  the  tapping  hole,  and  the  highest  point  is  at  the  chim- 
ney entrance,  ranging  from  6"  up  to  12"  higher  than  at  the 
tapping  hole.  The  sand  used  for  making  the  bed  is  similar 
to  that  used  for  cupola  bottoms,  but  if  anything  it  should  be 
more  open.  At  the  highest  portion  of  the  bed,  where  it  runs 
in  under  the  chimney,  the  sand  should  be  a  little  closer  or 
loamy,  for  when  the  sand  is  of  a  sharp  nature  the  current  of 
the  draft  is  sometimes  strong  enough  to  wash  it  with  it. 
In  mixing  this  sand  care  must  be  taken  not  to  have  it  any 
damper  than  sand  used  to  mould  with,  and  in  forming  and 
ramming  the  bed  it  must  not  be  rammed  too  hard.  After  a 
bed  is  evenly  formed  and  given  the  right  slope,  inch  boards 
are  then  laid  over  the  top  of  the  sand  bed  so  as  to  protect 
it  from  being  cut  up  with  the  iron.  When  the  furnace  is 


AIE   FURNACES. 


339 


340  AIR   FURNACES. 

being  charged  up,  unless  dirty  iron  is  used  or  a  firnace  does 
not  work  well,  a  bottom  will  often  stand  for  two  or  three 
heats. 

Making  the  tapping  hole  and  breast  must  often  be  done  in 
a  reliable  manner,  and  the  size  to  make  the  tapping  hole 
depends  upon  the  class  of  work  to  be  poured.  If  the  iron 
is  to  be  tapped  out  into  crane  ladles,  the  hole  should  not  be 
any  larger  than  2"  in  diameter,  but  if  the  iron  is  to  be  tapped 
out  in  a  large  basin  that  will  hold  all  the  iron  there  is  in  the 
furnace,  then  the  tapping  hole  should  be  about  three  inches 
in  diameter.  A  plan  for  stopping  up  the  hole  with  sharp 
sand,  so  that  it  will  tap  out  without  any  danger  of  bursting 
in  the  breast,  is  shown  in  the  article  entitled  "  Reservoirs  and 
Ladles  for  Pouring  Heavy  Castings."  When  charging  a  fur- 
nace, the  iron  should  be  kept  back  a  foot  or  two  from  the 
tapping  hole,  for  when  it  is  close  to  it  there  is  apt  to  be  seri- 
ous trouble,  since  the  first  iron  that  melts  runs  to  this  point 
because  it  is  the  lowest ;  and  if  there  is  iron  there  the  metal 
is  apt  to  become  chilled. 

Light  scrap,  pig  iron,  or  any  iron  that  melts  easily  should 
be  the  bottom  or  first  charged  iron,  and  heavy  rolls  or  larger 
lumps  of  scrap  should  be  the  uppermost  or  top  iron,  as  the 
upper  iron  gets  the  most  heat,  and  thus  we  have  the  iron 
that  is  the  easiest  to  melt  on  the  bottom,  and  the  hardest  on 
the  top.  The  light  and  heavy  iron  will  melt  proportionately, 
which  is  one  of  the  main  things  to  accomplish  in  melting 
iron  in  a  furnace ;  for  if  when  the  iron  is  most  all  down, 
there  are  found  one  or  two  pieces  that  are  not  down,  more 
fires  will  have  to  be  made  in  order  to  get  them  in  a  fluid  or 
melted  state,  and  these  extra  fires  are  apt  to  harden  the  iron, 
or  burn  the  life  out  of  it.  Iron  should  also  be  charged  as  open 
as  possible,  so  that  the  flame  and  heat  can  get  at  the  greatest 
amount  of  surface. 

"What  is  here  meant  by  the  iron  being  down  is  that  when 


AIR   FURNACES.  341 

looking  into  a  furnace  by  removing  the  loose  bricks  from  the 
puddling  holes,  we  show  that  there  are  no  lumps  of  iron  to  be 
seen.  Connected  with  a  furnace  there  are  the  tools  A,  B, 
G,  D  shown.  Whenever  there  appears  to  be  any  lumps  of 
iron  that  are  not  melting  as  fast  as  they  should  do,  in  order 
to  be  down  with  the  rest,  the  melter  will  take  the  poking- 
down  bar  D  (of  which  there  should  be  two  sizes),  and  break 
the  half-molten  lump  into  as  many  small  pieces  as  possible, 
and  then  with  the  puddling  and  pulling-down  bar  G  he  will 
move  the  lumps  into  the  deeper  and  lower  metal,  and  there 
work  it  round  for  a  while.  This  work  should  be  done 
quickly,  as  the  leaving  open  of  the  puddling  holes  allows 
cold  air  to  get  into  the  furnace.  When  the  iron  is  all 
melted  and  about  hot  enough,  which  is  ascertained  by  dip- 
ping some  out  of  the  furnace  with  a  small  hand  ladle,  the 
melter  then  takes  a  long  stick  of  wood,  and,  putting  it 
through  the  different  puddling  holes  in  turn,  he  mixes  or 
polls  up  the  iron  from  five  to  ten  minutes,  after  which,  if 
the  iron  is  hot  enough  and  everything  ready,  the  furnace 
can  be  tapped  out. 

For  fuel,  bituminous  coal  is  the  best,  as  it  makes  much 
flame.  Anthracite  coal  or  coke  may  be  used,  but  not  with 
as  good  results  as  with  the  soft  coal.  With  anthracite  or 
coke  there  would  have  to  be  some  blast  used.  In  starting  a 
fire,  try  to  have  a  little  good,  clear  coal  upon  the  grates 
for  the  first  two  or  three  fires,  as  it  will  help  to  keep  the 
clinkers  from  forming  on  the  grates,  after  which  a  poorer 
grade  of  coal  might  be  used.  In  firing  up  there  should  be 
some  system,  so  as  to  keep  up  an  even  fire.  About  every 
fifteen  minutes  the  fire  could  be  supplied  with  fuel,  and  about 
every  five  minutes  before  firing  take  the  bar  B,  and  by  running 
it  in  between  the  grate  bars  loosen  up  the  coal.  A  is  a  bar  for 
leveling  the  coal  over  the  fire  grates  and  raking  up  the  same. 
The  grate  bars  are  all  made  single,  sometimes  being  wrought 


342  AIR  FURKACES. 

iron  as  well  as  cast.  As  a  general  thing,  if  the  furnace  has  not 
worked  well,  or  not  been  managed  rightly  so  as  to  have  the 
iron  on  the  chill  side  when  it  is  all  melted,  it  is  a  hard  matter 
then  to  make  it  hot ;  and  to  have  hot  iron  it  must  be  melted 
hot  as  it  comes  down.  Trying  to  make  dull  iron  hot,  after  it  is 
melted,  is  nearly  like  trying  to  make  cold  water  boil  by  hav- 
ing the  heat  pass  over  the  top  of  it.  Air  furnaces  are  good  for 
producing  good,  strong  iron  when  properly  managed,  but 
there  are  very  few  cupola  melters  that  would  be  able  to  suc- 
cessfully run  an  air  furnace.  There  have  been  some  very  bad 
blunders  made  in  handling  furnaces  ;  often  they  have  had  to 
be  torn  almost  to  pieces  in  order  to  get  solid  frozen  masses  of 
iron  out,  which  came  from  improper  management  during 
the  melting.  To  be  a  good  air  furnace  melter  a  man  must 
have  brains  and  practice  ;  and  unless  a  firm  has  large,  heavy 
iron  that  they  wish  to  make  a  business  of  melting,  it  is  better 
to  erect  one  or  two  large  cupolas,  for  they  will  not  only  melt 
iron  with  a  much  less  percentage  of  fuel,  but  also  avoid 
risks  which  have  often  to  be  taken  in  melting  iron  in  air 
furnaces. 


BLACKING    MIXTUBES.  343 


BLACKING   MIXTURES. 

IT  is  of  great  value  to  a  moulder  to  have  a  mixture  of 
blacking  that  will  peel  and  make  a  smooth  skin  of  a  dark 
blue  color  on  a  casting,  and  the  failure  to  get  it  is  not 
always  because  of  improper  blacking,  but  due  to  the  method 
of  mixing.  Clay  wash,  molasses  water,  and  sour  beer  are 
liquids  that  are  generally  used  to  mix  up  blacking,  and 
their  proportions  can  always  be  regulated  so  as  to  control, 
in  a  great  measure,  the  quality  of  the  mixture.  In  mixing 
blacking  for  thin  castings  the  clay  wash  or  molasses  water 
should  not  be  so  strong  as  in  the  case  of  castings  over  one 
inch  in  thickness.  Too  much  clay  in  any  form  in  blacking 
is  a  bad  thing,  as  it  closes  up  the  pores  of  the  blacking,  and 
is  very  liable  to  scab.  Molasses  water  is  valuable  to  mix 
blacking  with,  but  care  must  be  used  as  to  the  quantity,  as 
too  much  molasses  will  cause  it  to  flake  and  crack  when  the 
heat  of  the  metal  reaches  it,  and  when  the  casting  comes 
out,  if  it  is  a  heavy  body,  it  is  apt  to  look  veined  and  streaked, 
as  a  heavy  green  sand  casting  appears  when  the  facing  sand 
has  been  too  strong.  A  half  pint  of  black  molasses  is  as  much 
as  should  be  used  to  a  common-sized  water  pail  of  mixed 
blacking  ;  anything  in  excess  of  this  amount  is  apt  to  cause 
trouble  of  some  kind.  Sour  beer  is  also  of  use  in  mixing 
blacking,  and  will  never  cause  any  trouble  unless  too  much 
clay  is  mixed  with  it.  Medium-sized  rolls  and  spindles  peel 
better  by  using  blacking  mixed  with  all  pure  water  than  if 
clay  was  mixed  heavy  with  the  water.  It  is,  however,  neces- 
sary to  have  some  clay  in  the  blacking  to  peel  properly  heavy 


344  BLACKING   MIXTURES. 

castings,  but  before  mixing  any  we  should  closely  examine 
the  dry  blacking  to  see  how  much  it  contains,  as  there  is 
generally  more  or  less  mixed  in  with  blackings  when  origin- 
ally made.  Some  blacking  contains  so  much  clay  that  it  does 
not  require  any  clay  wash  added  in  mixing  it  for  use.  The 
finer  blacking  is  ground,  the  better  mixture  it  will  make, 
and  good  blacking  when  mixed  will  not  settle  down  to  the 
bottom  of  the  pail,  but  will  grow  thicker  in  time.  If  the 
blacking  is  too  light  it  will  float  on  the  top  while  mixing  it, 
and  such  a  blacking  should  be  seldom  used ;  on  the  other 
hand,  a  blacking  that  is  so  heavy  as  to  sink  to  the  bottom 
when  mixed,  generally  contains  much  dirt  or  clay,  and 
should  also  be  rejected.  If  you  wish  to  make  a  nice,  clean, 
skin-colored  casting,  below  are  a  few  recipes  for  mixtures 
which  haye  been  prpved  satisfactory  : 

1  of  Lehigh  blacking, 

J  of  charcoal  blacking, 

J  of  German  or  American  lead. 

Wet  with  beer  or  molasses  water,  slightly  colored  with  fire- 
clay. This  made  a  good  mixture  for  cylinders  and  engine 
castings  not  over  3"  thick. 

-J  pail  of  heavy  prepared  blacking, 
J-  pail  of  lighter  prepared  blacking, 
2  handfuls  of  flour, 
1  handful  of  salt. 

Wet  with  beer  colored  with  fire-clay. 

Molasses  was  also  used,  but  beer  worked  the  best  in  this 
mixture.  The  salt  was  put  in  to  harden  it,  and  make  the 
blacking  dry  rapidly,  and  the  flour  to  give  it  a  body.  The 
salt  part  of  this  mixture  was  not  altogether  satisfactory,  as 


BLACKING   MIXTURES.  345 

it  somewhat  prevented  a  fine  finish,  otherwise  the  mixture 
was  entirely  satisfactory  : 

|  of  heavy  prepared  blacking, 
J  of  light  prepared  blacking, 
-£  pint  of  good  clear  oil. 

Wet  with  beer  colored  with  common  clay.  The  oil  was 
put  in  to  harden  the  blacking,  and  also  to  cause  a  smooth 
and  easy  finish,  and  this  mixture  made  a  nice-colored  skin 
on  locomotive  cylinders. 

To  mix  a  blacking  that  will  peel  a  heavy  solid  casting, 
such  as  anvil  blocks,  rolls,  or  heavy  cannons,  it  is  a  good 
plan  to  take  either  a  pure  Lehigh  or  a  coke  blacking  and 
mix  it  with  one  third  of  plumbago,  or,  as  commonly  called, 
Uack  lead,  and  wet  the  mixture  with  black  molasses  water 
colored  with  fire-clay  ;  then,  after  the  face  of  the  mould  has 
been  roughly  sleeked  over  once  with  the  tools,  take  some 
plumbago  and  wet  it  with  molasses  water. 

Make  the  mixture  thin,  and  go  over  the  mould  with  the 
plumbago  blacking  by  using  a  camePs-hair  brush.  Next  dust 
from  a  bag  or  spread  on  by  the  hand  a  light  dust  of  dry  plum- 
bago over  the  mould,  and  after  this  finish  up  the  mould. 
By  this  mixture  and  plan  heavy  rolls  and  anvil  block  castings 
will  drop  the  loam  or  dry  sand  without  touching  them,  and 
the  skin  and  color  will  be  beautiful  and  perfect  if  properly 
done.  All  blacking  contains  more  or  less  carbon,  and  the 
larger  the  percentage  the  more  heat  it  will  stand. 

Any  substance  put  on  the  face  of  a  mould  which  will 
prevent  the  hot  liquid  iron  from  burning  or  eating  into  the 
sand  and  not  SCAB,  will  help  to  make  a  smooth  skin  or  sur- 
face on  a  casting. 

Plumbago  blacking  contains  more  carbon  than  any  other 
in  use,  and  it  is  said  the  highest  temperature  will  not  melt, 
soften,  or  change  its  condition  ;  therefore  when  used  on  the 
15* 


346  BLACKING   MIXTURES. 

surface  of  a  mould  these  results  are  obtained.  All  blacking 
is  improved  by  being  mixed  a  day  or  two  before  required, 
and  in  mixing  blacking  it  should  be  screened  from  one  pail 
into  another  several  times,  that  the  different  parts  may  be 
thoroughly  mixed  and  clean. 


LOAM   MIXTURES.  347 


LOAM  MIXTURES. 

THERE  are  certain  sands  which  can  be  obtained  in  almost 
any  section  of  the  country,  and  from  which,  if  used  accord- 
ing to  their  clayey  qualities  or  sharpness,  mixtures  of  loam 
can  be  made.  There  are  two  classes  of  sand  which  gener- 
ally combine  in  order  to  make  a  loam ;  one  is  of  a  close, 
clayey  nature,  and  the  other  a  sharp  or  coarse  open-grained 
sand.  The  clayey  sand  gives  a  body  to  the  loam,  while  the 
sharp  sand  makes  the  loam  open  and  porous^  so  that  the 
iron  will  kindly  lay  against  its  surface. 

This  subject  is  more  fully  treated  in  the  chapter  on  "The 
Surface  of  Loam  Moulds."  The  following  are  a  few  loam 
mixtures  which  have  worked  well,  and  are  given  to  show 
the  proper  proportions  of  parts,  and  the  method  of  mixing 
loams  : 

3  pails  of  fire  sand, 

2  pails  of  moulding  sand, 
1  to  10  pails  of  horse  manure. 

Wet  with  thick  clay  wash. 

4  of  fire  sand, 

1  of  moulding  sand, 
1  of  dry  sieved  fire-clay, 
1  of  white  pine  sawdust. 

Wet  with  thin  clay  wash. 

For  a  finishing  loam,  the  same  mixture  wo^ld  sometimes 


348  LOAM   MIXTURES. 

be  used ;  the  only  difference  is,  that  the  clay  and  manure 
should  be  left  out,  and  instead  of  putting  the  sand  through 
a  No.  4  riddle,  it  would  be  screened  through  a  No.  8  sieve  ; 
and  again,  1  part  of  fire  sand,  and  3  parts  of  moulding 
sand  would  be  used,  and  the  mixture  wet  with  beer.  If, 
however,  the  moulding  sand  was  not  too  close,  it  could  be 
used  by  itself  if  wet  with  beer. 

Mixtures  of  loam  containing  fire  sand  are  in  general  used 
only  in  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States.  The  following 
mixtures  are  of  a  Western  origin,  although  similar  mixtures 
are  often  used  in  the  East : 


4  or  5  of  loam  sand,  according  to  clayeyness, 
1  of  lake  sand, 
1  of -manure. 

Wet  with  medium  clay  wash. 

Finishing  loam  is  the  same,  only  screened  through  a  No, 
8  riddle. 

Mixture  of  loam  used  for  making  thin  pulley  patterns  : 

2  of  fair  loam  sand, 

1  of  old  burnt  loam, 

2  of  lake  sand, 
1  of  manure. 


Wet  with  very  thin  clay  wash. 

In  the  first  casting  of  these  pulley  patterns  only  the 
ordinary  mixtures  were  used  ;  but  when  the  moulds  were 
cast,  the  iron  blew  so  hard  that  but  little  was  left  in  the 
mould.  With  the  above  weak  mixtures,  however,  the  cast- 
ings came  out  all  right.  It  is  sometimes  a  good  thing  to 


LOAM   MIXTURES.  349 

use  about  one  to  twenty  of  sea-coal  in  loam  for  light  thin 
castings.  The  following  mixture 

1  of  strong  loam  sand, 
1  of  coarse  lake  sand, 
1  to  6  of  manure, 

wet  with  water,  proved  yery  bad,  because  the  loam  sand  was 
so  clayey  that  it  took  too  large  a  quantity  of  coarse  lake  sand 
to  make  it  open  enough  to  use.  In  any  loam  mixture  it  is  not 
well  to  have  to  combine  sands  which  are  very  close  and  very 
open,  or  have  to  mix  coarse  sands  together  in  order  to  make 
a  mixture  that  will  work  satisfactorily.  The  nearer  to  an 
even  nature  we  can  get  the  sharp  and  the  clayey  sands, 
when  the  two  are  mixed  together,  the  closer  we  approach  a 
natural  loam. 

The  great  difficulty  in  using  finishing  loam  mixtures  is, 
that  they  generally  close  up  the  pores  of  the  under  or  coarse 
loam  too  much,  and  thereby  render  a  mould  liable  to  scab. 
The  following  mixture  gave  results  very  satisfactprily  for 
heavy  castings,  as  the  casting  came  out  as  smooth  as  a  piece 
of  thin  stove  plate,  and  this  same  mixture  was  used  for  the 
finishing  loam  on  swept-up  rolls.  It  was  mixed  as  follows  : 

2  of  old  dry  sand,* 
1  of  strong  loam  sand, 
1  of  lake  sand, 
J  coke  dust  or  sea-coal. 

Wet  with  water. 

In  connection  with  the  following  loam  mixture  the  name 

*  This  was  taken  out  of  a  dry  sand  mould  mixture,  having  been  used 
once,  the  life  was  partly  burnt  out  of  it. 


350  LOAM   MIXTURES. 

of  Mr.  "William  Fitzsimmons  must  be  mentioned,  since 
he  has  accomplished  hy  his  own  genius  many  valua- 
ble results  in  foundry  practice.  His  loam  mixture,  which 
works  well,  is  one  that  can  be  made  in  most  any  section  of 
foundry  practice. 

5^  of  lake  or  bank  sand, 
2J  of  moulding  sand, 
1|  of  horse  manure, 
3  of  clay  wash. 

This  loam  is  mostly  sharp  sand,  and  to  give  it  strength 
the  clay  wash  is  used.  This  clay  wash  is  mixed  in  such  a 
manner  that  there  is  a  certain  quality  of  clay  in  every 
batch  without  fail.  The  mixing  of  this  clay  wash  is  the 
most  important  part  of  the  mixture,  and  must  be  measured 
very  exactly  by  the  following  plan  :  Take  a  large  barrel 
that  will  not  leak,  and  for  every  well-packed  pail  of  common 
clay  put  in  two  full  pails  of  water,  and  then  for  every  three 
pails  of  clay  put  in  half  a  shovel  of  flour;  this  will  help  to 
thicken  and  ferment  the  clay  wash.  Then  the  whole 
should  be  allowed  to  stand  over  night,  so  as  to  soak  the 
clay  soft.  In  the  morning  all  the  clay  is  thoroughly  mixed. 
When  the  sand  is  all  ready  to  be  wet  the  three  pails  of  clay 
wash  are  taken  from  the  barrel  and  mixed  in  it.  Should 
the  sand  be  unusually  dry,  so  that  the  three  pails  of  clay 
wash  would  not  wet  it  enough,  use  for  the  balance  water. 
If  the  sand  be  very  wet,  use  a  stronger  proportion  of  clay 
in  the  wash.  If  required  to  use  this  loam  after  it  is  old, 
always  wet  it  with  water.  This  loam,  and,  in  fact,  any  loam 
is  better  if  mixed  two  or  three  days  before  using,  for  it  is 
tougher  and  more  of  a  loamy  nature. 

If  a  stronger  loam  is  desired,  only  use  seven  pails  of  sand 
to  three  pails  of  clay  wash.  For  a  finishing  loam  mix  the 


LOAM   MIXTURES.  351 

same  proportions  of  sand,  but  instead  of  the  horse  manure 
use  cow  manure,  for  it  makes  a  smoother-skinned  casting. 
Take  1-J  pails  of  fresh  manure,  and  mix  the  three  pails  of 
clay  wash  with  it,  rubbing  the  manure  and  clay  through  a 
No.  4  riddle  ;  then  mix  it  with  sand  which  has  been  screened 
through  a  No.  8  riddle.  The  horse  manure  can  be  used  in 
place  of  the  cow  manure,  if  more  accessible. 

The  following  is  a  mixture  of  loam  which  can  be  made 
from  moulding  and  lake  or  bank  sands  : 

1  of  moulding  sand, 

1J  of  bank  sand, 

1  to  20  of  dried  sieved  fire  clay, 

1  to  6  of  horse  manure. 

Sometimes  one  to  twenty  of  coke  dust  or  sea-coal  is  mixed 
with  the  loam. 

This  loam  was  wet  with  good  clay  wash,  and  worked  well 
on  the  castings. 

An  odd  kind  of  sand  is  sometimes  found,  resembling 
meal,  and  looks  yery  much  like  fire  sand,  except  it  is  not  so 
red.  It  is  more  loamy,  however,  and  has  nearly  as  much 
body  as  moulding  sand.  Mixed  as  follows  it  made  a 
splendid  loam  : 

5  of  the  meal  sand, 

2  of  lake  sand, 

1  £  of  horse  manure. 

Wet  with  medium  clay  wash. 

All  the  above  clay  washes  (except  when  fire-clay  is  named) 
are  made  from  common  red  clay,  and  what  is  here  meant 
by  loam  sand  is  a  sand  which  contains  more  clay  in  it  than 
moulding  sand,  making  it  of  a  loamy  nature. 


352  LOAM   MIXTURES. 

The  lake  or  bank  sand  comes  under  the  head  of  sharp 
sand,  and  is  always  used  for  an  opener. 

There  are  two  bad  features  mixtures  of  loam  sometimes 
possess  :  one  is,  it  will  not  stand  the  dropping  or  washing  of 
iron  on  it ;  and  the  other,  it  will  scab. 

Iron  borings  or  filings  are  useful  to  use  sometimes  in  loam 
to  keep  it  from  cutting,  or  a  little  flour  will  answer ;  of  course 
this  should  only  be  used  on  that  part  where  the  iron  strikes 
it  directly,  as  if  used  in  any  other  part  it  might  render  it 
liable  to  scab  ;  a  mixture  of  loam  can  be  so  made  as  to  both 
cut  and  scab  by  making  it  of  a  close,  weak  mixture.  Very 
fine-grained  sands  will  generally  scab  and  cut  easier  than 
open-grained  sands.  If  a  mixture  of  loam  can  be  made  from 
open  sand  having  body  enough  to  stand  the  iron,  it  is  better 
than  to  use  a  close-grained  sand  in  order  to  give  it  strength. 
The  best  mixed  loams  are  those  which  will  stand  the  drop- 
ping of  iron  and  not  scab  in  any  part  of  the  mould,  and  to 
obtain  such  a  mixture  depends  much  upon  the  mixer's  judg- 
ment and  the  quality  of  the  sands  which  he  has  to  use. 


DRY   SAND   MIXTURES.  353 


DRY  SAND  MIXTURES. 

DRY  sand  moulding  is  in  many  respects  similar  to  loam 
moulding. 

A  cut  or  a  scab  on  a  dry  sand  casting  is  the  result  of 
similar  causes  as  scabs  or  cuts  on  loam  castings,  and  the 
mixture  of  loam  used  generally  calls  for  about  the  same  pro- 
portion of  sand  for  making  dry  sand  facings.  What  is  meant 
by  facing  sand  is,  that  sand  which  forms  the  surface  of  a 
mould,  and  its  thickness  ranges  from  one  to  two  inches ;  the 
sand  which  is  at  the  back  of  this  has  not  such  care  taken 
with  its  proportion  or  mixing.  This  backing  sand  answers 
very  much  the  same  purpose  as  the  bricks  in  a  loam  mould, 
giving  support  to  the  surface.  Backing  sand  should  be 
worked  as  open  as  possible,  so  as  to  allow  gases  of  the  sur- 
face sand  to  escape  through  it  as  freely  as  possible,  and  the 
facing  sand  should  be  worked  as  open  as  its  strength  will- 
permit.  The  dampness  of  the  sand  should  not  greatly  ex- 
ceed that  of  green  sand,  as  the  wetter  the  sand  when  used, 
the  harder  and  closer  will  it  be  when  dried.  A  dry  sand 
facing  frequently  is  made  wetter  for  some  jobs  than  for 
others.  If  a  mould  takes  three  or  four  days  to  ram,  or  if 
that  time  elapses  before  it  can  be  finished  ready  for  the  oven, 
the  mixture  should  be  made  damper  than  if  it  was  to  go  in  the 
oven  the  same  day  it  was  mixed.  In  making  dry  sand  facings 
it  is  better  to  have  them  well  tramped  and  mixed,  as  by  so 
doing  it  will  give  strength  and  toughness  to  them.  The  fol- 
lowing are  a  few  mixtures  that  will  give  the  proportion  and 
afford  an  idea  how  to  make  dry  sand  mixtures  : 


354  DRY   SAND   MIXTURES. 

12  pails  of  lake  sand, 
12  pails  of  strong  loam  sand, 
4  pails  of  moulding  sand, 
1  to  10  of  coke  dust, 
H  of  flour. 
Wet  with  water. 

The  above  was  used  for  the  teeth  of  a  large  spur-gear 
wheel,  and  it  worked  well.  This  mixture  would  be  too  close 
for  flat  surface  moulds,  but  for  the  teeth  of  gear  wheel 
sand,  it  is  better  if  worked  closer,  for  the  teeth  will  hang 
and  mould  up  better,  and  as  long  as  they  are  well  vented 
there  is  very  little  risk  of  scabbing. 

The  following  mixture  was  used  for  making  a  large  bevel 
wheel,  and  the  sand  was  made  more  open  because  the  teeth 
were  on  a  bed,  and  therefore  there  was  no  danger  of  their 
dropping.  The  sand  could  be  made  more  open,  and  thus 
lessen  the  danger  of  scabbing,  which  is  a  thing  dry  sand 
bevel-gear  wheels  are  sometimes  liable  to  do. 

The  Jersey  sand  here  mentioned  is  similar  to  a  fine  lake 
sand,  except  it  is  whiter ;  it  is  a  sand  somewhat  like  fire  sand, 
and  has  more  of  a  body  to  it  than  lake  sand. 

1  of  moulding  sand, 
1  of  Jersey  sand, 
1  of  fire  sand, 
1  to  16  of  sea-coal. 

"Wet  with  thin  clay  wash. 

The  following  mixture  made  a  close  facing,  but  was  one 
where  there  was  danger  of  scabbing  : 

1  of  close  loam, 

1  of  open  loam, 

1  to  16  of  sea  coal. 

Wet  with  clay  wash. 


DRY   SAND   MIXTURES.  355 

There  are  sometimes  places  where  a  loam  sand  cannot  be 
procured  ;  in  such  places  the  mixture  below  will  be  found  to 
give  satisfaction. 

6  pails  of  moulding  sand, 
1£  pails  of  lake  or  bank  sand, 
1  to  30  of  flour. 

Wet  with  clay  wash. 

This  same  mixture  was  used  for  backing,  only  it  was  not 
mixed  so  carefully,  and  about  1  to  40  of  flour  used.  With 
this  mixture  cylinders,  as  well  as  jobbing  work,  have  been 
cast. 

Another  mixture  for  cylinders  is  : 

4  of  fair  loam, 

1  of  lake, 

1  to  14  of  sea-coal  or  coke  dust. 

Wet  with  clay  wash  according  to  clayeyness  of  the  loam, 
in  fact  in  any  mixture  where  clay  wash  is  used  its  thickness 
should  be  regulated  by  the  nature  of  the  sand.  The  backing 
used  with  this  facing  was  5  parts  of  loam  and  1  part  of  lake 
wet  with  clay  wash. 

A  mixture  that  can  be  made  most  anywhere,  and  is  good 
for  ordinary  work,  is  as  follows  : 

1  of  moulding  sand, 
1  of  bank  sand. 

Use  H  °f  bank  sand  when  it  is  wanted  open,  and  1  to 
30  of  flour,  1  to  20  of  blacking,  wet  with  clay  wash,  and 
for  the  backing  the  same  proportion  of  sand  was  used  having 
about  1  to  30  of  flour,  omitting  the  sea-coal  blacking. 

The  following  mixture  was  made  because  a  very  clayey 


356  DRY   SAND   .MIXTURES. 

loam  had  to  be  used,  and  to  make  it  work  there  had  to  be  a 
larger  proportion  of  coarse  lake  sand. 

6  of  strong  loam  sand, 
6  of  lake  sand, 
2  of  old  dry  sand, 
1  to  40  of  flour, 
1  to  14  of  sea  coal. 

"Wet  with  water. 

The  backing  was  mixed  from  half  lake  and  half  loam 
sands  ;  the  whole  mixture  was  then  used  for  cylinder  casting. 

In  the  same  shop  rolls  were  made  by  being  swept  up.  A 
good  mixture  for  the  grooves  was  as  follows  : 

2  pails  of  old  dry  sand, 
1  pail  of  lake  sand, 
1  to  12  of  sea-coal, 
1  to  18  of  flour. 

Made  as  wet  as  could  be  worked  with  thick  clay  wash. 
For  the  body  of  the  rolls  the  old  sand  was  used,  and  it  was 
renewed  as  follows : 

16  pails  of  the  old  sand, 
8  pails  of  lake  sand, 
4  pails  of  new  loam. 

Wet  with  water. 

This  is  a  good  proportion  to  use  in  renewing  any  old  dry 
sand,  as  there  is  twice  as  much  open  sand  used  as  loam  or 
clayey  sand.  The  great  trouble  with  old  dry  sand  is  its 
closeness,  since  every  time  it  is  used  it  becomes  more  fine 
and  dusty,  hence  a  good  thing  to  often  do  with  old  dry  sand  is 
to  shovel  it  into  a  No.  8  sieve,  and  by  shaking  it  a  little  the 


DRY   SAND   MIXTURES.  357 

dusty  or  very  fine  portion  of  the  sand  will  separate  from  the 
better  and  coarser  qualities  of  the  sand,  which  when  thrown 
in  a  pile  by  itself  and  the  fine  dust  screened  out,  and  some 
new  sand  added  to  renew  it,  will  be  found  to  work  well.  All 
new  dry  sand  mixtures  should  be  mixed  in  proportions 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  sand  and  the  moulder's  judg- 
ment of  what  is  required  for  his  special  job. 


358  CORE   SAND   MIXTURES. 


COEE    SAND    MIXTURES. 

CORES  are  generally  used  to  form  the  interior  portions  of 
castings,  and  the  least  neglect  or  mismanagement  in  making 
them  is  apt  to  cause  trouble.  There  is  no  portion  of  a 
casting  that  requires  such  care  in  respect  to  venting.  The 
vent  of  the  outside  portion  of  a  mould  may  sometimes  be 
confined  and  no  harm  done  to  the  casting  ;  but  let  the  vent 
of  a  core  nearly  surrounded  with  iron  be  confined,  and  the 
result  is  a  bad  casting.  There  are  two  reasons  for  the  con- 
finement of  gases  in  cores  ;  the  first  is,  they  may  not  be  suffi- 
ciently vented,  or  it  may  be  improperly  done  ;  and  the  second, 
the  iron  is  allowed  to  get  into  the  vents  by  not  having 
them  well  secured  or  made  air-tight  in  their  prints. 

There  are  three  modes  of  venting  cores.  The  FIRST  is  by 
using  straight  rods.  The  SECOKD,  by  using  strings,  ropes, 
or  bands  of  straw  or  hay.  This  class  of  venting  is  only 
done  in  crooked  cores.  Sometimes  the  strings  or  ropes  are 
coated  with  wax  or  soap,  and  in  some  cases  they  are  not 
pulled  out  until  the  core  is  dried.  Another  plan,  some- 
times practiced  in  venting  partially  crooked  cores,  is  to  use 
straight  rods  in  the  straight  part,  letting  them  run  through 
the  print  as  far  as  they  will  go  into  the  straight  portion  of 
the  core  box,  without  danger  of  coming  too  close  to  the 
sides  of  the  box,  and  when  the  core  is  dried  the  crooked 
portion  is  then  vented  by  using  vents  filed  or  scratched  into 
it,  and  then  passing  a  string  or  rope  through  the  straight 
vents  into  the  openings  made,  in  the  crooked  part,  filling  up 
the  balance  of  the  filed  out  openings  with  a  mixture  of  half 
stiff  blacking  and  core  sand ;  then  the  strings  or  ropes  are 


CORE   SAND   MIXTURES.  359 

pulled  out,  leaving  a  clear  vent.  This  plan  is  practiced 
considerably  in  the  making  of  cylinder  ports,  or  S  cores,  as 
they  are  sometimes  called.  If  there  are  any  doubts  as  to 
the  clearness  of  the  vents,  they  can  be  tested  by  blowing 
tobacco  smoke  through  them,  after  which  the  end  of  the 
vents  opposite  to  the  prints  are  carefully  stopped  up. 

The  THIRD  MODE  OF  VENTING  is  practiced  in  the  making 
of  large  cores.  In  this  case  the  interior  portion  of  the  core 
is  filled  with  coke  or  fine  cinders,  thus  saving  core  sand  and 
firing,  as  well  as  affording  means  to  carry  off  the  vent. 

The  mixture  of  core  sands  depends  upon  the  class  of  cores 
to  be  made.  For  small  cores  finer  sand  should  be  used 
than  for  large  cores.  There  are  two  articles,  flour  and  rosin, 
that  are  used  to  mix  with  the  core  sand,  in  order  to  make 
them  firm  and  solid  when  dried.  Flour  is  most  commonly 
used,  on  account  of  the  ease  with  which  it  will  mix  with 
sand.  Rosin  is  good  for  cores  that  are  hard  to  vent,  as  the 
gases  escape  and  ignite  freer  than  when  flour  is  used. 
Rosin  cores  also  will  stand  the  dampness  of  green  sand 
moulds,  and,  as  a  general  thing,  leave  a  smoother  surface 
or  hole  in  a  casting  than  flour. 

The  following  are  mixtures  of  core  sands  in  use.  The 
common  mixture  of  sand  for  large  ordinary  cores  is 

2  of  lake  or  bank  sand, 

1  of  moulding  sand, 

From  1  to  12,  up  to  1  to  18  of  flour. 

Cores  that  are  not  to  be  handled  much  can  be  mixed 
with  less  flour  than  cores  which  are  to  be  filled  and  lifted  in 
and  out  of  moulds  several  times,  in  order  to  make  them  fit. 
For  wetting  the  sand  some  shops  use  an  all  clay  wash,  while 
others  will  use  nothing  but  water,  and  again  there  are  a  few 
shops  that  use  only  beer  or  molasses  water.  This  makes  a 
good  strong  core,  but  on  account  of  its  expense  it  is  but  little 


360  CORE   SAND   MIXTURES. 

used.  For  such  cores  as  are  required  to  be  very  firm  and 
solid,  some  foundries  do  not  use  clay  wash  or  water,  but  go 
to  the  extra  expense  of  using  beer  or  molasses  water,  which 
in  many  cases  is  advisable.  When  beer  or  molasses  water 
is  used,  a  less  percentage  of  flour  is  required.  In  mixing 
sand  for  large  cores,  it  is  sometimes  advisable  to  mix  it  half 
lake  or  bank  sand,  and  half  moulding  sand.  Having  an 
excess  of  moulding  sand  will  cause  the  core  to  hold  together, 
while  it  is  green,  better  than  if  the  sharp  sand  is  used  in 
excess,  as  given  in  the  first  receipt.  When  the  core  sand 
is  mixed  half  and  half,  as  above  stated,  it  is  better  to  have 
the  sand  wet  with  some  beer  or  molasses  water,  so  as  to  give 
the  core  firmness  when  dried.  Many  places  mix  their  sand 
for  very  large  cores  as  follows  : 

3  of  lake  or  bank  sand, 
1  of  moulding  sand, 
1  to  14  of  flour. 

Wet  with  clay  wash. 

But  cores  thus  made  should  be  well  rodded  and  rammed, 
especially  if  the  core  is  one  that  stands  up  straight.  Such 
a  mixture  will  stand  a  hot  fire  better  than  if  more  moulding 
sand  is  used  in  it. 

For  making  hard  fine  small  cores  a  good  mixture  is  : 

3  of  moulding  sand, 
1  of  lake  or  bank  sand, 
1  to  14  of  flour  or  rosin. 

Wet  with  molasses  water,  mixed  about  1  to  20,  or  one 
pint  of  molasses  to  a  pail  of  water. 

In  using  rosin,  pound  it  into  a  fine  powder  in  an  iron 
kettle  or  pot.  Sometimes  all  moulding  sand  is  used,  when 
rosin  is  mixed  in  it,  and  again  the  rosin  and  flour  are  used 


CORE   SAND   MIXTURES.  361 

together,  the  rosin  being  mixed  with  it  to  make  the  vents 
come  off  more  freely. 

Rye  flour  is  often  used  for  making  core  sand,  and  it 
makes  a  nice  open  core,  and  is  also  good  for  making  paste 
to  joint  cores  with,  or  may  be  used  on  the  joints  of  moulds, 
as  it  is  not  so  sticky  to  handle. 

To  show  some  of  the  different  ways  that  core  sand  is 
mixed  for  special  jobs,  the  following  receipts  are  given  : 

CAR   WHEEL   CORES. 

6  of  sharp  sand, 
1  of  moulding  sand, 
1  to  16  of  flour. 
Wet  with  water. 

INGOT   CORES,  FOR   MAKING  CASTINGS   TO  POUR  STEEL  INTO. 

66  pails  of  coarse  lake  sand, 
66  pails  of  moulding  sand, 
18  pails  of  clayey  loam, 
14  pails  of  horse  manure, 
2  pails  of  flour. 

"Wet  with  water. 

This  mixture  made  a  loamy  open  core  sand,  which  will 
hang  together,  with  little  danger  of  its  scabbing. 

CORE   SAND,    FOR    MAKING    SEGMENT   CORES    FOR    FORMING 
OR   MAKING    LARGE   GEAR   WHEELS. 

2  of  moulding  sand, 
1  of  bank  sand, 
1  of  Jersey  or  fire  sand, 
1  to  16  of  blacking, 
1  to  20  of  flour. 

Wet  with  thin  clay  wash. 
16 


362  COKE   SAND   MIXTURES. 

CORES   IN  HEAVY   CASTING. 

When  cores  run  through  heavy  bodies  of  iron,  the  hot 
liquid  raises  the  fusible  element  of  the  sand  to  such  a  high 
temperature  that  the  grains  fuse  together,  so  that  when  the 
casting  cleaner  tries  to  get  the  core  out,  he  finds  it  almost 
as  hard  as  the  iron.  A  good  thing  to  prevent  this  fusing  of 
the  sand  is  to  mix  some  sea-coal  or  blacking  in  it,  and  to 
give  the  surface  of  the  core  a  good  body  of  black  lead,  or 
plumbago  blacking.  This  outside  coat  of  blacking  will  pre- 
vent the  liquid  iron  from  eating  into  the  surface  of  the  core 
sand,  and  the  sea-coal  or  blacking  mixed  in  the  sand  burns 
away  and  passes  off  in  the  form  of  gas,  leaving  a  porous  body 
between  the  grains  of  sand,  which  assists  in  preventing  its 
fusing.  In  putting  rods  in  such  cores  as  are  subjected  to 
high  temperature,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  coat  them  with  two 
or  three  thick  coats  of  flour  paste,  and  dry  them  in  an 
oven  as  it  is  put  on  ;  for  by  doing  this  the  dried  paste  burns 
off  from  the  rod,  and  leaves  it  free  to  come  out  of  the 
casting. 


GREEK   SAXD    FACINGS. 


GREEN   SAND  FACINGS. 

THE  nature  of  the  sand  with  which  a  green  sand  mould 
is  made  affects  the  quality  of  the  casting  to  a  remarkable 
extent.  To  make  fine  light  castings,  finer  grades  of  sand 
are  used,  and  coarser  for  the  large  heavy  castings.  The 
main  reason  for  using  the  coarser  grades  of  sand  for  heavy 
work  is,  such  sands  generally  have  more  body  to  withstand 
heavy  heats,  and  again,  coarser  sands  admit  of  being  rammed 
harder  with  far  less  danger  of  scabbing  the  moulds. 

It  would  be  a  hard  matter  to  definitely  show  how  any  one 
could  decide  if  a  new  grade  of  sand  was  suited  to  his  special 
class  of  work,  since  a  judge  of  moulding  sand  must  be  a 
person  of  some  experience  at  moulding,  or  one  familiar 
with  moulding  sand. 

A  moulder,  in  deciding  if  moulding  sand  will  answer  his 
purpose,  generally  takes  some  in  his  hand,  and  after  giving 
it  a  squeeze,  he  will  then  hold  the  oblong  ball  by  one  of 
its  ends,  slightly  swinging  it  to  and  fro,  to  test  its  hanging 
qualities,  after  which  he  will  closely  examine  the  grain  of 
the  sand  by  laying  it  on  some  flat  surface.  If  he  should 
observe  too  large  a  percentage  of  quicksand  in  it,  it  would 
not  be  very  favorable  for  his  purpose,  especially  so  where 
the  sand  is  to  be  used  for  making  heavy  castings  ;  in 
fact,  for  any  class  of  work  too  much  quicksand  is  very  ob- 
jectionable. Moulders  prefer  a  sand  having  a  good  body, 
and  of  a  porous  nature,  for  heavy  work,  and  a  fine  grain 
sand  for  light  work.  Sometimes  foundries  receive  sand 
having  weeds  growing  in  it.  Such  sand  as  this  is  gener- 


364  GREEN   SAND  FACINGS. 

ally  rich.  An  occurrence  that  happened  not  long  ago 
with  sand  having  weeds  in  it  may  here  be  cited.  In 
making  some  large  floor  plates,  the  first  one  was  lost,  be- 
cause there  were  some  little  lumps  on  the  cope  side  of  the 
casting,  and  underneath  these  lumps  were  hollow  places. 
Many  reasons  were  given  for  the  failure,  but  nothing  seemed 
satisfactory.  Another  one  was  cast,  and  as  the  shop  was 
only  casting  every  other  day,  the  mould  was  closed,  and  on 
the  day  after,  just  before  casting  time,  the  cope  was  lifted 
oif,  and  then  it  appeared.  Another  bad  casting  would  have 
resulted  if  the  casting  had  been  made,  for  there  were  little 
sand  mounds  in  several  places  on  the  bottom  part  of  the 
mould,  and  in  looking  under  the  cope  there  appeared  small 
weeds  growing  downwards.  As  these  weeds  grew  they 
pushed  down  the  sand,  leaving  the  lumps  on  top,  and  the 
holes  in  the  bottom,  which  appeared  in  the  first  cast- 
ing. 

As  a  general  thing,  sea-coal  or  bituminous  facing  is  mixed 
in  with  sands  for  heavy  casting,  or  for  casting  machinery ; 
but  sometimes  coke  dust  is  used.  The  mixing  of  these 
facings  with  sand  prevents,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  grains 
of  the  sand  from  being  partially  melted,  and  prevents  the 
hot  iron  from  burning  and  penetrating  into  the  sand. 
There  is  a  limit  as  to  the  percentage  of  facings  to  be  mixed 
with  the  sand,  which,  if  exceeded  on  the  heavy  castings, 
causes  the  iron  to  eat  into  the  facing  sand,  and  leaves  a 
casting  full  of  sharp  veins. 

For  light  casting,  too  great  a  quantity  of  mixed  facings  is 
apt  to  prevent  the  castings  from  running  sharply,  or  will 
cause  it  to  be  cold  shut.  Facings  also  have  a  tendency  to 
make  the  skin  of  a  casting  hard.  The  proportions  in  which 
sea-coal  or  facings  are  mixed  with  sand,  ranges  from  one  to 
six  up  to  one  to  twenty,  one  to  six  being  about  as  strong  as 
it  will  stand,  so  as  to  not  have  the  casting  look  veined,  and 


GREEN   SAND   FACINGS.  365 

one  to  twenty  is  about  as  weak  as  it  can  be  mixed,  to  show 
any  effect  on  castings. 

For  light  castings  under  three  eighths  of  an  inch  thick- 
ness, facing  sand  is  very  seldom  used,  and  for  castings  rang- 
ing from  £•"  up  to  1J",  there  is  generally  one  part  of  sea- 
coal  or  coke  dust  mixed  in  with  ten  of  sand.  From  1£" 
up  to  2£"  it  is  generally  mixed  one  to  eight,  and  all  over 
2|"  is  commonly  mixed  one  to  seven,  or  six.  In  using  facing 
sand,  it  is  not  always  the  thickness  of  the  casting  which  is 
a  guide  for  the  strength  of  the  facing  sand  to  be  used. 
There  are  other  things  to  be  considered:  the  first  is  whether 
it  is  desired  to  pour  the  casting  with  hot  or  dull  iron  ;  the 
second,  the  distance  of  some  parts  from  the  point  where  the 
iron  enters  the  mould ;  and  the  third,  how  long  a  time  it 
takes  for  a  mould  to  become  filled  with  iron.  Heavy  solid 
lumps  of  castings  have  been  known  to  be  cold  shut,  from 
using  what  might  be  called  facing  weak  in  proportion  to 
the  thickness  of  the  casting.  Strong  facing  on  the  sides 
of  a  mould  where  the  iron  runs  in  and  rises  up  slowly, 
will  sometimes  cause  heavy  thick  castings  to  be  cold  shut. 
The  square  corners  of  a  casting  should  have  weaker  facing 
sand  used  upon  or  against  them  than  the  straight  plain 
surfaces ;  and  the  lower  parts  of  high  moulds  should  have  a 
stronger  facing  used  upon  them  than  the  upper  portions,  since 
if  the  strong  facings  were  used  at  the  most  distant  or  upper 
portions  of  a  mould,  as  can  be  done  at  the  lower  portions,  or 
those  near  the  gates,  the  castings  would  be  sometimes  liable 
to  become  cold  shut.  In  some  places,  in  mixing  facing 
sand,  they  use  one  half  old  heap  sand  and  one  half  new 
sand  ;  but  the  majority  of  shops  use  new  sand  throughout. 
When  old  sand  is  used,  less  sea-coal  facing  is  required.  In 
mixing  facing  sand,  it  should  be  well  mixed  and  riddled. 
A  facing  sand  passed  through  a  No.  8  sieve  before  going 
against  the  pattern,  will  make  a  smoother  casting  than  that 


366  GREEN   SAND  FACINGS. 

passed  through  a  No.  4  riddle.  A  stronger  facing  san< 
can  also  be  used  on  very  thick  castings,  by  having  it  we" 
tramped  and  mixed.  There  are  many  receipts  of  gree: 
sand  mixtures  here  given,  placed  in  with  the  articles,  unde 
the  head  of  Green  Sand  Moulding. 

A  mixture  for  one  job  may  have  to  be  changed  for  another, 
although  it  apparently  looks  the  same,  and  in  green  sand 
moulding  as  in  loam  or  dry  sand.  The  moulder  has  often 
many  points  to  consider  in  order  to  properly  make  and  use 
sand  mixtures. 


CLEANING   CASTINGS.  367 


CLEANING  CASTINGS. 

THE  general  idea  of  a  good  casting  is  one  that  looks  well 
with  the  least  amount  of  labor  spent  in  cleaning  it.  Some 
moulders  will  make  castings  that  require  only  half  the  labor 
to  chip  and  clean  them  which  others  will.  Sometimes 
gates  will  be  cut  so  clumsily  on  small  castings,  that  it  takes 
longer  to  chip  them  than  it  does  to  make  the  mould.  Or, 
again,  the  castings  may  be  all  strained  and  swelled,  or 
scabbed  ;  and  when  the  chipper  has  spent  more  time  to 
clean  it  than  it  took  to  mould  it,  the  moulder  will  take  the 
credit  for  its  final  appearance. 

To  properly  clean  castings  is  as  essential  as  to  properly 
mould  them.  A  well-regulated  foundry  will  always  be 
found  to  have  facilities  for  the  cleaning,  as  well  as  for  the 
moulding  of  its  castings.  If  possible,  castings  should  be 
cleaned  in  a  department  separated  from  the  moulding-room ; 
and  for  cleaning  large  castings  there  should  be  an  ample 
supply  of  cape,  cold  sets,  hand  chisels,  and  different-shaped 
scrapers  and  wire  brushes,  together  with  a  place  for  each 
class  of  tools,  so  that  there  will  be  no  time  lost  in  hunting 
for  them. 

The  cleaning  of  small  castings  requires  vitriol  bath  tubs, 
and  tumbling  or  rolling  barrels.  The  latter  are  generally 
used  in  shops  that  make  small  castings  a  specialty.  The 
method  of  using  vitriol,  generally  employed,  is  by  means  of 
an  inclined  wooden  platform,  having  its  lowest  point  hang- 
ing over  an  iron  or  wooden  kettle,  or  box,  and  in  this  will  be 
placed  a  mixture  of  about  one  third  vitriol  and  two  thirds 


368  CLEANING    CASTINGS. 

water.  The  castings  are  then  placed  on  the  inclined  plat- 
form, and  a  long-handled  iron  dipper  is  used  to  spread  the 
mixture  of  vitriol  and  water  on  them.  They  are  then  left 
to  dry  until  they  appear  of  a  whitish-looking  color,  the 
time  required  for  this  being  from  eight  to  twelve  hours.  If 
one  application  of  the  vitriol  does  not  remove  or  loosen  all 
the  scale,  the  process  must  be  repeated. 

By  the  side  of  this  inclined  platform  is  usually  placed  an 
iron  kettle,  or  oblong  wooden  box,  with  which  a  water  or 
steam  pipe  is  connected.  If  cold  water  is  used  after  the 
box  is  partially  filled  up,  the  steam  is  turned  on,  and  the 
water  made  as  hot  as  possible,  after  which  the  castings  lay- 
ing on  the  inclined  platform  are  placed  in  this  hot  water, 
and  when  thoroughly  washed  are  lifted  out.  After  the 
water  is  all  drained  from  them,  they  are  placed  in  a  box 
filled  with  sawdust,  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  becoming 
rusted.  Wooden  boxes  lined  with  lead  are  believed  to  be 
better  than  others,  since  vitriol  would  soon  eat  iron  kettles. 
The  hot  water  into  which  castings  are  placed,  should  be 
often  renewed  ;  for  to  dip  castings  in  water  that  has  been 
used  three  or  four  times  is  apt  to  leave  a  whitish  color  upon 
some  parts  of  the  casting.  Before  castings  are  wet  with  the 
vitriol  pickle  they  should  be  cleaned,  so  as  to  remove  all  the 
sand  and  scale,  which  can  readily  be  taken  off ;  for  the  more 
sand  there  is  remaining,  the  longer  it  will  take  for  the  pickle 
to  affect  them. 

Another  plan  for  cleaning  small  castings,  whose  form  will 
permit,  is  to  place  them  in  cylindrical  barrels,  so  con- 
structed that  the  castings  can  be  readily  placed  in  and  taken 
from  them. 

In  this  method  sometimes  cinders  are  mixed  with  the 
castings,  or  the  barrel  may  be  partially  filled  with  castings 
and  some  fine  shot,  and  the  remaining  space  filled  with  long 
wooden  blocks.  These  blocks,  as  a  general  thing,  are  only 


CLEANING    CASTINGS.  369 

used  when  there  are  not  enough  castings  to  fill  up  the  bar- 
rel, or  when  the  castings  are  of  such  a  shape  that  the  barrel 
could  not  otherwise  be  packed  tight. 

Light  and  heavy  castings  should  not  be  put  in  a  barrel 
together,  as  there  is  danger  that  the  heavy  ones  would  break 
the  light  ones. 

Some  shops  which  have  many  quite  small  and  light  cast- 
ings to  tumble,  have  a  large  number  of  star-shaped  shot  put 
in  with  them.  These  little  stars  are  similar  to  |"or-J" 
round  shot,  with  four  or  five  sharp  points  projecting  about 
J-".  The  sharp  points  find  their  way  into  all  corners  of  the 
castings,  as  the  barrel  revolves,  and  the  castings  are  thor- 
oughly cleaned  by  them. 

The  cleaning  of  large  castings  is  generally  done  by  hand, 
and  it  is  as  essential  casting  cleaners  should  be  neat  and 
particular  in  performing  their  part  of  the  work,  as  that  the 
moulders  should  be  in  theirs,  if  a  shop  would  have  the 
reputation  of  making  good,  smooth  castings. 
16* 


370  WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 


WEIGHTS  OF  CASTINGS. 

IT  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  for  a  moulder,  in  pouring 
castings,  to  have  them  run  short  of  the  proper  amount 
of  iron.  Not  of  necessity  from  a  deliberate  design,  but 
because  his  judgment  has  deceived  him,  either  by  miscalcu- 
lating the  amount  in  the  ladle,  or  that  required  to  fill  the 
mould.  In  pouring  heavy  castings  the  moulder  should 
seldom  depend  upon  his  judgment,  for  the  risk  is  too 
great. 

The  volume  of  all  parts  of  a  mould  should  be  found  by 
careful  measurement  and  calculation,  and  thus  the  proper 
amount  of  iron  can  be  secured. 

Often,  even  if  moulders  are  good  mathematicians,  they 
will,  to  save  a  little  extra  labor  in  calculating,  pour  their 
moulds  by  guess-work,  and  sometimes  find  to  their  sorrow 
they  have  been  deceived.  The  following  tables  and  rules 
are  given  to  assist  the  moulder  in  this  branch  of  his 
trade. 

The  decimals  or  fractions  of  pounds  obtained  are  not 
given,  since  in  practice  castings  can  seldom  be  found  to 
weigh  exactly  what  the  calculations  call  for,  and  the  less 
figures  a  table  contains  the  easier  will  they  be  under- 
stood. 

To  find  the  weight  of  square  or  oblong  plates  one  inch  in 
thickness,  multiply  the  length  by  the  breadth.  Then  multi- 
ply the  area  in  cubic  inches  thus  obtained  by  the  decimal 
.2607  (the  weight  of  a  cubic  inch  of  cast  iron),  which  gives 
the  weight  of  plate  in  pounds.  Example  : 


WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS.  371 

To  find  the  weight  of  a  square  plate  12  inches  on  the  side 
and  one  inch  thick. 

12" 
12 

Cubic  inches  in  plate,  144 

.2607 


1008 
8640 

288 
Weight  of  plate  in  pounds  

and  decimals,  37.5408  =  37^  Ibs. 

To  find  the  weight  of  round,  square,  or  oblong  plates, 
having  oblong,  square,  or  round  holes  in  them,  subtract 
the  volume  of  the  hole  from  the  volume  of  the  plate,  which, 
multiplied  by  .2607,  will  give  the  weight  in  pounds.  Some- 
times, by  referring  to  the  tables  of  weights  of  square  or 
round  plates,  the  weight  of  a  plate  the  size  of  the  hole  is 
found,  which,  subtracted  from  the  weight  of  a  solid  plate 
the  size  of  the  outside  diameter  or  square,  gives  the  weight 
of  the  ring  or  plate  one  inch  thick,  having  a  square  or  round 
hole. 

Knowing  the  weight  of  any  square  or  round  plates  one 
inch  in  thickness,  it  is  then  very  easy  to  obtain  the  weight 
of  thicker  plates,  by  simply  multiplying  the  weight  by  the 
increased  thickness.  For  instance,  if  the  plate  is  one  and 
a  quarter  inch  in  thickness,  the  weight  will  be  one  fourth 
more ;  or,  if  one  and  a  half  inch  in  thickness,  will  be  one 
half  heavier  than  the  weights  given  in  the  tables.  But  if 
only  three  quarters  of  an  inch  thickness,  here  the  plate  will 
be  one  quarter  lighter  in  weight. 

In  order  to  test  correctness  of  tables,  and  obtain  the  deci- 
mals if  wanted,  the  rules  and  examples  are  given  as  shown. 


372 


WEIGHTS    OF   CASTINGS. 
TABLE   I. 


LENGTH  OF  SIDE. 

FOR  SQUARE   PLATES 

1"   THICK. 

WEIGHTS. 

12  inches. 

For  square  plates 

1"  thick. 

371  lbs- 

13      " 

a            tt 

tt 

44      " 

14      " 

a            n 

" 

51      " 

15      " 

tt            tt 

" 

58£    " 

16      " 

tt            a 

tt 

66J    " 

17      " 

it                  a 

tt 

75      " 

18      " 

a                  tt 

tt 

84      " 

19      " 

tt                  tt 

n 

95      " 

20      " 

tt                  ft 

a 

104      " 

21      " 

tt                  ft 

tt 

115      " 

22      " 

tt                  tt 

" 

126      " 

23      " 

tt                  tt 

" 

138      " 

24      " 

tt                  tt 

tt 

150      " 

25      " 

tt                  tt 

" 

163      " 

26      " 

tt                  tt 

" 

176      " 

27      " 

a                  a 

a 

190      " 

28      " 

it                  tt 

« 

204      " 

29      " 

tt                  tt 

« 

219      " 

30      " 

tt                  tt 

tt 

235      " 

31      " 

ft                  tt 

tt 

251      " 

32      " 

tt                  ft 

ft 

267      " 

33      " 

tt                  tt 

tt 

284      " 

34      " 

tt                  ft 

ft 

301      " 

35      " 

ft                  tt 

tt 

319      " 

36      " 

tt                  tt 

tt 

338      " 

37      " 

tt                  tt 

tt 

357      " 

38      " 

ft                  tt 

tt 

376      " 

39      " 

tt                  tt 

tt 

397      " 

40      " 

tt                  tt 

tt 

417      " 

WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 
TABLE  I.— Continued. 


373 


LENGTH  OF  SIDE.          FOR   SQUARE   PLATES    1"  THICK. 

WEIGHTS. 

41  inches. 

For  square  plates  1"  thick. 

438    Ibs. 

42      " 

tt            tt            tt 

459      " 

43      " 

tt            tt            tt 

482      " 

44      " 

tt            tt            tt 

505      " 

45      " 

tt            tt            tt 

528      - 

46      " 

tt            tt            tt 

552      " 

47      " 

tt            tt            tt 

576      " 

48         -« 

tt            tt            tt 

601      " 

49      " 

tt            a            tt 

626      " 

50      " 

tt            ft            tt 

652      " 

51      " 

tt            tt           tt 

678      " 

52      " 

tt            <t            tt 

705      " 

53      " 

tt            tt            tt 

732      " 

54      " 

a            a            tt 

760      " 

55      " 

tt            <t            tt 

789      " 

56      " 

ft            tt            tt 

818      " 

57      " 

ft            tt            tt 

847      " 

58      " 

ti            ft            a 

876      <f 

59      " 

tt           tt            tt 

907      " 

60      " 

tt      .      tt            tt 

939      " 

61      " 

tt           a            tt 

970      " 

62      " 

tt            tt            ft 

1002      " 

63      " 

tt            tt            ft 

1035      " 

64      " 

a            tt           tt 

1068      " 

65      " 

tt            tt            tt 

1101      " 

66      " 

tt            tt            tt 

1136      " 

67      " 

tf            tt            ft 

1170      " 

68      " 

n            ft            n 

1205      " 

69      " 

n            tt            a 

1241      " 

374 


WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 
TABLE  I.— Continued. 


LENGTH  OF  SIDE. 

FOR  SQUARE  PLATES   1"   THICK. 

WEIGHTS. 

70  inches. 

For  square  plates  1"  thick. 

1277    Ibs. 

71      " 

tt            tt            ft 

1314      " 

72      " 

tt            ft            ft 

1352      " 

73      " 

tt            a            tt 

1389      " 

74      " 

ft            tf            ft 

1428      " 

75      " 

ft            tf            n 

1467      " 

76      " 

ft            ft            ft 

1506      " 

77      " 

ft            ft            ft 

1546      " 

78      " 

tt            ft            tt 

1586      " 

79      " 

tf            tt            ft 

1627      " 

80      " 

ft            tt            tt 

1668      " 

81      " 

tt            ft            tt 

1711      " 

82      " 

ft            ft            ft 

1753      " 

83      " 

ft            tt            tt 

1796      " 

84      " 

ft            tt            tt 

1839      " 

85      " 

tt            ft            ft 

1884      " 

86      " 

tt            ft            it 

1928      " 

87      " 

ft            ft            tt 

1973      " 

88      " 

ft-           tt            tt 

2019      " 

89      " 

ft            ft            ft 

2065      " 

90      " 

ft            ft            tt 

2112      " 

91      " 

ft            ft            tt 

2159      " 

92      " 

ft            ft            ft 

2207      " 

93      " 

(t            ft            tt 

2255      " 

94      " 

tt            tt            ft 

2304      " 

95      " 

tt            ft            ft 

2353      " 

96      " 

ft            ft            ft 

2403      " 

97      " 

ft            ft            ft 

2453      " 

98      " 

ft            ft            ft 

2504      " 

WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 
TABLE  I.— Continued. 


375 


LENGTH  OF  SIDE. 

FOR   SQUARE   PLATES  1"   THICK. 

WEIGHTS. 

99  inches. 

For  square  plates  1"  thick. 

2555    Ibs. 

100      " 

ft            tt           a 

2607      " 

101      " 

ft            tt            tt 

2659      " 

102      " 

ft            tf            ft 

2712      " 

103      " 

tt            tt            ft 

2766      " 

104      " 

tt           tt            tt 

2820      " 

105      " 

tt            ft            ft 

2874      " 

106      " 

ft            tt           tt 

2929      " 

107      " 

ft            tt            tt 

2985      " 

108      " 

tt            tt            tt 

3041      " 

109      " 

tt            tt            a 

3097      " 

110      " 

tt            tt            tt 

3154      " 

111      " 

tt            tt            tt 

3212      " 

112      " 

tt            tt            ti 

3270      " 

113      " 

tt            tt            tt 

3329      " 

114      " 

tt           ft            ft 

3388      " 

115      " 

ft            ft            tt 

3448      " 

116      " 

tt            tt            a 

3508      " 

117      " 

tt            tt            n 

3569      " 

118      " 

tt            tt            tt 

3630      " 

119      " 

((            tt            ft 

3692      " 

120      " 

ft            tt            tt 

3754      " 

121      " 

ft            ft           tt 

3817      " 

122      " 

tt            ft            tt 

3880      " 

123      " 

tt            tt            tt 

3944      " 

124      " 

tt            tt           tt 

4009      ttf 

125      " 

tt            tt            a 

4073      " 

126      " 

tt            tt            ft 

4139      " 

127      " 

tt            tt            tt 

4205      " 

376 


WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 


TABLE  I.— Continued. 


LENGTH  OF   SIDE. 

FOR  SQUARE  PLATES   1"    THICK. 

WEIGHTS. 

128  inches. 

For  square  plates  1"  thick. 

4271    Ibs. 

129      " 

tt            tt            tt 

4338      " 

130      " 

tt            tt            tt 

4406      " 

131      " 

tt            tt            tt 

4474      " 

132      " 

tt            tt            ti 

4542      " 

133      " 

tt            n            tt 

4612      " 

134      " 

ft            ft            tt 

4681      " 

135      " 

if            ft            ft 

4751       " 

136      " 

ft            (t            ft 

4822      " 

137      " 

ft            ft            ft 

4893       " 

138      " 

ft            ft            tt 

4965      " 

139      " 

ti            ft            ft 

5037      " 

140      " 

tt             ft            tt 

5110      " 

141      " 

tt            ft            tt 

5183      " 

142      " 

tt            tt            a 

5257      " 

143      " 

ft            t(            t.t 

5331      " 

144      " 

tt             ^            tt 

5406       " 

To  find  the  weight  of  round  cast-iron  plates  one  inch  in 
thickness. 

Square  the  diameter  of  plate,  and  multiply  by  decimal 
.7854,  which  will  give  area  in  square  inches,  which,  mul- 
tiplied by  the  decimal  .2607,  will  give  the  weight  in 
pounds. 


Example  :  To  find  the  vveight  of  a  round  plate  12"  diam- 
eter and  one  inch  thick. 


WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 


37? 


Diameter  of  plate, 


Square  of  diameter, 


Area  in  square  inches, 


Weight  of  plate  in 


12" 
12 

24 
12 

144 

.7854 

576 
720 
1152 

1008 

113.0976 
.2607 

7916832 
67858560 
2261952 


pounds  and  decimals,       29.48454432  = 


Ibs. 


The  following  table  gives  the  weight  of  round  cast-iron 
plates,  from  12  inches  in  diameter  to  144  inches,  the  thick- 
ness being  1  inch. 


TABLE  II. 


. 

DIAMETER  IN  INCHES. 

FOR  ROUND   PLATES   1"    THICK. 

WEIGHTS. 

12  inches. 

For  round  plates  1"  thick. 

29£  Ibs. 

13      " 

a            «            tt 

35      " 

14      " 

ft            (f            tt 

40      " 

15      " 

tt            tt            ft 

46      " 

16      " 

tt            tt            (( 

52      " 

17      " 

tf            ft            ft 

59      " 

18      " 

a            a            tt 

66      " 

378 


WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 
TABLE  II.— Continued. 


DIAMETER  IN  INCHES. 

FOR  ROUND 

PLATES 

1"   THICK. 

WEIGHTS. 

19  inches. 

For  round 

plates 

1"  thick. 

74    Ibs. 

20      " 

tt 

tt 

" 

82      " 

21      " 

" 

tt 

ft 

90      " 

22      " 

ft 

tt 

" 

99      " 

23      " 

tt 

" 

tt 

108      " 

24      " 

" 

" 

ft 

118      " 

25      " 

" 

" 

a 

129      " 

26      " 

" 

" 

" 

139      " 

27      " 

a 

ft 

tt 

149      " 

28      " 

ft 

tt 

a 

160      " 

29      " 

tt 

« 

tt 

172      " 

30      " 

tt 

« 

" 

185      " 

31      " 

tt 

M 

<< 

197      " 

32      " 

<< 

ft 

tt 

210      " 

33      " 

a 

" 

tt 

223      " 

34      " 

tt 

tt 

tt 

237      " 

35      " 

tt 

tt 

" 

251      " 

36      " 

ft 

tt 

tt 

266      " 

37      " 

ft 

" 

tt 

280      " 

38      " 

tt 

ft 

ft 

296      " 

39      " 

ft 

ft 

tt 

311      " 

40      " 

ft 

ft 

tt 

327      " 

41      " 

ft 

ft 

ft 

344      " 

42      " 

tt 

ff 

tt 

361      " 

43      " 

tt 

ft 

ft 

379      " 

44      " 

" 

ff 

ft 

396      " 

45      " 

ft 

ft 

tt 

415      " 

46      " 

t: 

" 

ft 

434      " 

47      " 

tt 

ft 

" 

453      " 

WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 
TABLE  II.— Continued. 


379 


DIAMETER  IN  INCHES. 

FOR   ROUND 

PLATES 

1"   THICK. 

WEIGHTS. 

48 

inches. 

For  round 

plates 

1"  thick. 

472 

Ibs. 

49 

a 

a 

tt 

ft 

491 

tt 

50 

a 

tt 

tt 

ft 

512 

tt 

51 

(( 

it 

tt 

tt 

533 

tt 

52 

tt 

it 

it 

tt 

553 

ft 

53 

a 

tt 

tt 

ft 

575 

tt 

54 

ft 

tt 

tt 

(t 

597 

n 

55 

a 

it 

tt 

ft 

620 

ft 

56 

tt 

it 

tt 

tt 

642 

tt 

57 

a 

tt 

it 

tt 

665 

ft 

58 

a 

it 

tt 

tt 

689 

ft 

59 

a 

tt 

tt 

tt 

713 

tt 

60 

(( 

tt 

tt 

tt 

737 

ft 

61 

a 

tt 

tt 

tt 

762 

ft 

62 

a 

tt 

tt 

tt 

787 

ft 

63 

(( 

tt 

ft 

tt 

813 

ft 

64 

a 

tt 

tt 

it 

838 

ft 

65 

tt 

tt 

tt 

tt 

865 

a 

66 

f( 

ft 

tt 

tt 

892 

tt 

67 

ft 

Sf 

ft 

tt 

919 

tt 

68 

tt 

(f 

<( 

tt 

945 

tt 

69 

tt 

ft 

tt 

tt 

975 

ft 

70 

tt 

tt 

tt 

tt 

1003 

ft 

71 

tt 

tt 

ft 

tt 

1032 

tt 

72 

tt 

tt 

tt 

tt 

1061 

ft 

73 

tt 

tt 

tt 

ft 

1091 

ti 

74 

it 

tt 

tt 

tt 

1122 

tt 

75 

tt 

ft 

tt 

tt 

1153 

tt 

76 

tt 

tt 

tt 

tt 

1183 

tt 

380 


WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 
TABLE  II.— Continued. 


DIAMETER  IN  INCHES. 

FOR   ROUND 

PLATES   1" 

THICK. 

WEIGHTS. 

77  inches. 

For  round 

plates  1" 

thick. 

1214    Ibs. 

78      " 

ft 

a 

ft 

1246      " 

79      " 

" 

« 

ft 

1278      "  > 

80      " 

it 

ft 

" 

1310      " 

81      " 

tt 

ft 

ft 

1343      " 

82      " 

tt 

ft 

ft 

1377      " 

83      " 

tt 

" 

ft 

1410      " 

84      " 

ft 

" 

" 

1445      " 

85      " 

tt 

" 

" 

1479      " 

86      " 

tt 

ft    • 

ft 

1515      " 

87      " 

tt 

tt 

tt 

1550      " 

88      " 

ft 

ft 

tf 

1586      " 

89      " 

ft 

ft 

ft 

1622      " 

90      " 

1  1 

" 

" 

1658      " 

91      " 

it 

" 

" 

1696      " 

92      " 

tf 

ft 

" 

1733      " 

93      " 

ft 

" 

ft 

1772      " 

94      " 

ff 

" 

" 

1809      " 

95      " 

tf 

it 

ft 

1848      " 

96      " 

ff 

tt 

ft 

1887      " 

97      " 

ff 

" 

ft 

1927      " 

98      " 

tf 

ft 

ft 

1967      " 

99      " 

tt 

" 

ft 

2007      " 

100      " 

ft 

" 

ft 

2048      " 

101      " 

tf 

ft 

ft 

2088      " 

102      " 

ff 

ft 

ft 

2130      " 

103      " 

If 

" 

" 

2172      " 

104      " 

ft 

" 

tt 

2215      " 

105      " 

ff 

ft 

ft 

2257      " 

WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 
TABLE  II.— Continued. 


381 


DIAMETER  IN  INCHES 

FOR   ROUND   PLATES   1"    THICK. 

WEIGHTS. 

106  inches. 

For  round  plates  1"  thick. 

2300     Ibs. 

107      " 

ft            tt            tf 

2344      " 

108      " 

t<            ft            (t 

2388      " 

109      " 

ft             ft            tf 

2433      " 

110      " 

t  f            .-  1            f  t 

2477      " 

111      " 

t  f            f  f            f  .• 

2523      " 

112      " 

t  f            »  f            1  1 

2568      " 

113      " 

ft            tf            ft 

2614      " 

114      " 

ff             ff            tf 

2661      " 

115      " 

tf            tf            tf 

2708      " 

116      " 

tt            ff            tf 

2755      " 

117      " 

tt            a            tf 

2803      " 

118      " 

tt            a            ft 

2851      " 

119      " 

ft            tt              2900      " 

120      " 

tf              2948      " 

121      " 

tf            ft             tt 

2998      " 

122      " 

tf            tt             ft 

3047      " 

\ 

123      " 

3098      " 

124      " 

3148      " 

125      "                    "             "            " 

3199      " 

126      " 

tf 

3251      " 

127      " 

ft 

3302      " 

128      " 

tf            tf            tf 

3355      " 

129      <•' 

ff                                f*                                 fi 

3407      " 

130      " 

if                     fi                     i» 

3460      fi 

131      " 

ff               ff               i( 

3514      " 

132      " 

ff                  tf                  (• 

3567      " 

133      '•' 

ff                  ff                  ff 

3623      " 

.     134      <v 

ff                  ff                  tf 

3676      " 

135      " 

tf                  ff                  tf 

3731      " 

382 


WEIGHTS   OF    CASTINGS. 
TABLE  II.— Continued. 


DIAMETER  IN  INCHES. 

FOR  ROUND  PLATES   1"    THICK. 

WEIGHTS. 

136  inches. 

For  round  plates  1"  thick. 

3787    Ibs. 

137      " 

«             tt            <( 

3843      " 

138      " 

t(                a                (( 

3899      " 

139      " 

ft                «                a 

3956      " 

140      " 

"                li                " 

4014      " 

141      " 

a                t(                a 

4071      " 

142      " 

it                            <»                            « 

4128      " 

143      " 

11                            «                            <( 

4187      " 

144      " 

a                  it                  a 

4246      " 

To  find  the  weight  of  cast-iron  balls. 

Multiply  the  cube  of  the  diameter  in  inches  by  .1365,* 
and  the  product  is  the  weight  in  pounds. — Haswell. 

Example  :  To  find  the  weight  of  a  ball  12"  in  diameter. 
Diameter  of  ball, 


Square  of  diameter, 


12" 
12 

144 
12 


1728 
.1365 

8640 
10368 
5184 
1728 


288 
144 

Cube  of  the  diameter     — 

in  inches,  1728 

Weight  of  ball  in  )       9q-  R790  _ 

pounds  and  decimals,  [  = 

To  find  the  weight  of  a  hollow  ball.    Take  from  the  table 

the  weight  given  for  ball  having  the  same  outside  diameter, 

and  subtract  from  this  the  weight  given  for  a  ball  of  the 

same  inside  diameter ;  or  multiply  the  difference  of  the 

cubes  of  the  exterior  and  interior  diameter  in  inches  by  .1365. 

*  The  volume  of  a  ball  can  be  found  by  multiplying  the  cube  of  the 
diameter  by  .5236.  The  product  multiplied  by  .2607  (the  weight  of  a 
—t^io  inch  of  cast  iron)  will  give  the  weight  in  pounds. 


WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 
TABLE  III. 


383 


TABLES   FOE   THE    WEIGHT  OF   BALLS    HAVING    DIAMETERS   FROM  3   INCHES 
TO  60  INCHES. 


DIAMETER  IN  INCHES. 

FOR  BALLS   3  INCHES   TO  29  INCHES. 

WEIGHTS. 

3  inches. 

Solid 

balls  3  to  29  inches. 

3}  Ibs. 

4      " 

tt 

a              « 

8}    " 

5      " 

ft 

tt              tt 

17     " 

6      " 

tt 

a              tt 

29.  j-    " 

7      " 

tt 

ti                                    ti 

47-     " 

8      " 

it 

tt                                    tt 

70      " 

9      " 

tf 

ti                                    ft 

100      " 

10      " 

a 

fi                                    tt 

137      " 

11      " 

tt 

tt                                 <i 

182      " 

12      " 

a 

ti                                 it 

236      " 

13      " 

ti 

ti                                 ti 

300      " 

14      " 

tt 

it                                 it 

375      " 

15      " 

a 

i  i                                    i  i 

461      " 

16      " 

ti 

ti                                    ti 

559      " 

17      " 

it 

ii                                    tf 

671      " 

18      " 

fi 

fi                                   fi 

796      " 

19      " 

fi 

ii                                    (i 

936      " 

20      " 

« 

fi                                 ii 

1092      " 

21      " 

ii 

fi 

1264      " 

22      " 

fi 

fi                                 (• 

1454      f* 

23      " 

fi 

fi                                 (i 

1661      " 

24      "' 

fi 

fi                                   ti 

1887      " 

25      " 

•• 

ii                                   « 

2133      " 

26      " 

ii 

fi                                    <f 

2399      " 

27      " 

ii 

ti 

2687      " 

28      " 

ti 

ft                                    ft 

2995      " 

29      " 

Ii 

ti                                    (f 

3329      " 

384 


WEIGHTS   OF  CASTINGS. 
TABLE  III.— Continued. 


DIAMETER  IN  INCHES. 

FOR  BALLS  30  INCHES  TO  60  INCHES. 

WEIGHTS. 

30  inches. 

Solid  balls  30  to  60  inches. 

3686    Ibs. 

31      " 

tt            tt             tt 

4067      " 

32      " 

ft            ft             tt 

4473      " 

33      " 

te                tt                  t( 

4904      " 

34      " 

(f                t(                  ft 

5365      " 

35      " 

ft                tt                  tt 

5853      " 

36      " 

ft                ft                  ft 

6369      " 

37      " 

tt                tf                  ft 

6914      " 

38      " 

ft                a                  tf 

7490      " 

39      " 

ft                ft                  ft 

8097      " 

40      " 

tt                tt                  tt 

8736      " 

41      " 

tt                tt                  tt 

9408      " 

42      " 

tt                tt                  tt 

10113      " 

43      " 

tt                tt                  a 

10853      " 

44      " 

tt                tt                  tt 

11628      " 

45      " 

ft                ft                  ft 

12439      " 

46      " 

tt                tt                  it 

13286      " 

47      " 

tt                tt                  tt 

14172      " 

48      " 

tt                tt                  tt 

15096      " 

49      " 

tt                ft                  tt 

16058      " 

50      " 

tt                tt                  tt 

17063      " 

51      " 

tt                tt                  tt 

18107      " 

52      " 

tt                 it                  tt 

19940      " 

53      " 

tt                tt                  tt 

20321      " 

54      "    ' 

tt                 tt                  tt 

21494      " 

55      " 

tt                tt                  tt 

22711      " 

56      " 

a                tt                  tt 

23972      " 

57      " 

a                tt                  tt 

25278      " 

58      " 

tt                ft                  tt 

26633      " 

59      " 

tt                tt                  tt 

28034      " 

60      " 

(t                tt                  tt 

29484      " 

WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS.  385 

To  find  the  iveight  of  cast-iron  pipes  or  cylinders. 

Find  the  inside  area  of  a  pipe  or  cylinder  by  multiplying 
the  square  of  the  inside  diameter  by  .7854,  then  find  the 
outside  area  by  multiplying  the  square  of  the  outside  diam- 
eter by  .7854;  subtract  the  former  from  the  latter,  and  the 
product  is  the  area  in  inches,  which,  multiplied  by  .2607 
(the  weight  of  a  cubic  inch  of  cast  iron),  gives  the  weight 
in  pounds  for  one  inch  of  length. 

This  product,  multiplied  by  the  length  in  inches,  will 
give  the  weight. 

Example  :  To  find  the  weight  of  a  pipe  or  cylinder  hav- 
ing an  inside  diameter  of  12£"  and  f "  inch  thickness,  and 
12"  long. 

Outside  area,  153.938 

Inside  area,  122.719 

Area  of  circular  ring,  31.219 

.2607 


218533 
1873140 
62438 

Weight  of  one  inch  long,  8.1387933 

12 


Weight  of  twelve  inches  long,  97.6655196  =  97-&V 
17 


386 


WEIGHTS   OF    CASTINGS. 


TABLE  IV. 

TABLE  FOR  THE  WEIGHT  OF  CAST-IRON  PIPES  OR  CYLINDERS  ONE  FOOT  LONG, 
VARYING  FROM  6  INCHES  TO  120  INCHES  IN  DIAMETEK,  AND  ONE 
AND  TWO  INCHES  IN  THICKNESS. 


DIAMETER  OF    CORE. 

WEIGHT  OF, 
1  INCH   THICK. 

WEIGHT   OF, 
2  INCHES   THICK. 

6  inches. 

69 

Ibs. 

157    Ibs. 

7      " 

79 

tt 

177      " 

8      " 

89 

if 

197      " 

9      " 

98 

tt 

216      " 

10      " 

108 

tt 

236      " 

11      " 

118 

u 

256       " 

12      " 

128 

a 

275      " 

13      " 

138 

a 

295      " 

14      " 

148 

n 

315      " 

15      " 

157 

a 

334      " 

16      " 

167 

it 

354      " 

17      " 

177 

it 

374      " 

18      " 

187 

tt 

393      " 

19      " 

197 

tt 

413      " 

20      " 

206 

it 

433      " 

21      " 

216 

tt 

452      " 

22      " 

226 

a 

472      " 

23      " 

236 

tt 

492      " 

24      " 

246 

tt 

511      " 

25      " 

256 

tt 

531      •" 

26      " 

265 

it 

550      " 

27      " 

275 

a 

569      " 

28      " 

285 

a 

590      " 

29      " 

295 

tt 

609      " 

30      " 

305 

tt 

629      " 

WEIGHTS   OF    CASTINGS. 


387 


TABLE  IV '.—Continued. 


DIAMETKR  OF  CORE. 

WEIGHT  OF, 
1  INCH  THICK. 

WEIGHT  OF, 
2  INCHES  THICK. 

31  inches. 

315  Ibs. 

649  Ibs. 

32   " 

324  " 

668   " 

33   " 

334  " 

688   " 

34   " 

344  " 

708   " 

35   " 

354  " 

727   " 

36   " 

364  " 

747   " 

37   " 

374  " 

767   " 

38   " 

383  " 

786   " 

39   " 

393  " 

806   " 

40   " 

403  " 

826   " 

41   " 

413  " 

845   " 

42   " 

423  " 

865   " 

43   " 

433  " 

885   " 

44   " 

442  " 

904   " 

45   " 

452  " 

924   " 

46   " 

462  " 

944   " 

47   " 

472  " 

963   " 

48   " 

482  " 

984   " 

49   " 

492  " 

1003   " 

50   " 

501  " 

1022   " 

51   " 

511  " 

1042   " 

52   " 

521  " 

1063   « 

53   " 

531  " 

1081   " 

54   " 

541  " 

1101   " 

55   " 

550  " 

1121   '* 

56   " 

560  " 

1140   " 

57   " 

570  " 

1160   " 

58   " 

581  " 

1179   " 

38B' 


WEIGHTS  OF  CASTINGS. 


TABLE  IV.— Continued. 


DIAMETER  OF  CORE. 

WEIGHT  OF, 
1  INCH  THICK. 

WEIGHT  OF, 
3  INCHES  THICK. 

59  inches. 

590  Ibs. 

1199  Ibs. 

60   " 

601  " 

1219   " 

61   " 

610  " 

1238   " 

62   " 

619  " 

1258   " 

63   " 

629  " 

1278   " 

64   " 

639  " 

1297   " 

65   " 

649  " 

1317   " 

66   •« 

658  " 

1337   " 

67   " 

668  " 

1357   " 

68   " 

678  " 

137G   " 

69   " 

688  " 

139G   " 

70   " 

699  " 

1415   " 

71   " 

707  " 

1435   " 

72   " 

717  " 

1454   " 

73   " 

727  " 

1474   " 

74   '.' 

737  " 

1494   " 

75   " 

747  " 

1514   " 

76   " 

757  " 

1533   " 

77   " 

767  " 

1555   " 

78   " 

777  " 

1573   " 

79   " 

787  " 

1592   " 

80   " 

796  " 

1612   " 

81   " 

806  " 

1632   " 

82   (l 

816  " 

1651   " 

83   " 

826  " 

1671   " 

84   " 

836  " 

1691   " 

85   " 

845  " 

.   1^1Q    (( 

86   " 

855  " 

1730   " 

WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 


389 


TABLE  TV.— Continued. 


DIAMETER  OF  CORE. 

WEIGHT  OF, 
1  INCH  THICK. 

WEIGHT  OF, 
2  INCHES  THICK'; 

87  inches. 

865  Ibs. 

1750  Ibs. 

88   " 

875  " 

1769   " 

89   " 

884  " 

1788   " 

90   " 

895  " 

1808   " 

91   " 

904  " 

1828   " 

92   " 

914  " 

1848   " 

93   " 

924  " 

1867   " 

94   " 

934  " 

1887  " 

95   " 

944  " 

1907   " 

96   " 

953  " 

1927   " 

97   " 

963  " 

1946   " 

98   " 

973  " 

1966   " 

99   " 

983  " 

1985   " 

100   " 

993  " 

2005   " 

101   " 

1003  " 

2025   " 

102   " 

1012  " 

2044   " 

103   " 

1023  " 

2064   " 

104   " 

1032  " 

2084   " 

105   " 

1042  " 

2103   " 

106   " 

1052  " 

2123   " 

107   " 

1062  " 

2143   " 

108   " 

1071  " 

2162   " 

109   " 

1081  " 

2182   " 

110   " 

1091  " 

2202   " 

111   " 

1101  " 

2221   " 

112   " 

1111  " 

2241   " 

113   " 

1121  " 

2261   " 

114   " 

1130  " 

2280   " 

390 


WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS. 


TABLE  IV .—Continued. 


DIAMETER   OF    CORE. 

WEIGHT   OF, 
1   INCH   THICK. 

WEIGHT   OF, 
2   INCHES    THICK. 

115  inches. 

1140   Ibs. 

2300   Ibs. 

116      " 

1150        " 

2320      " 

117      " 

1160     " 

2339      " 

118      " 

1169     " 

2359      " 

119      " 

1180     " 

2379      " 

120      " 

1189     " 

2398      " 

The  weights  of  square  plates  and  round  ones,  also  balls 
and  cylinders  here  given,  comprise  a  set  of  tables  that  the 
author  thinks  will  be  found  very  useful  as  a  means  of  assist- 
ing moulders  in  ascertaining  the  amount  of  iron  required  to 
fill  such  moulds  (for  basing  runners  and  gates  he,  of  course, 
must  add  to  the  weights  obtained). 

There  are  many  different-shaped  castings  for  which  no 
set  of  tables  can  be  given,  and  to  find  the  weight  of  such 
the  moulder  will  require  special  calculations.  It  is  not 
necessary,  in  all  cases,  to  take  every  crook  or  projection  into 
special  account,  as  it  does  not  require  any  great  ability  to 
get  an  average,  or  to  determine  what  the  size  of  a  mould  or 
pattern  would  be  if  its  irregular  projections  were  all  leveled 
or  the  holes  filled  up.  Thus  the  size  of  the  mould  or  pat- 
tern would  come  into  plain  and  even  surfaces.  It  is  then 
an  easy  matter  to  obtain  the  volume  or  number  of  cubic  feet 
or  inches  contained  in  a  mould  or  pattern  ;  knowing  which 
we  can  soon  know  what  amount  of  iron  will  be  required. 

To  compute  the  weight  of  any  shaped  castings,  find  the 
number  of  cubic  inches  in  the  piece,  then  multiply  by  any 


WEIGHTS   OF   CASTINGS.  391 

of  the  decimals  given  below,  and  the  product  will  give  the 
weight  in  pounds  approximately. 

To  ascertain  the  weights  of  castings  by  weighing  solid 
wooden  patterns,  multiply  the  weight  of  pine  patterns  by 
sixteen,  those  of  hard  wood  by  twelve,  and  these  products 
will  be  an  approximation  to  the  weight  in  iron. 

The  decimal  .2607,  the  weight  for  a  cubic  inch  of  cast 
iron,  which  is  here  used  as  a  multiplier,  is  taken  from  HAS- 
WELL.  There  are  two  other  decimals,  .26  and  .263,  which 
are  very  often  used  in  place  of  .2607,  and  by  using  them  less 
figures  arc  required. 

To  figure  on  the  safe  side,  as  in  the  case  of  loam  moulds 
or  green  sand  moulds  that  are  liable  to  strain  much,  and 
also  for  hard  iron,  the  decimal  .263  is  the  best  to  use. 

For  ordinary  moulds  the  decimal  .26,  used  as  a  multi- 
plier of  volumes  or  areas  in  inches,  will  be  found  to  give 
sufficiently  close  answers. 


THE   END. 


INDEX. 


AIR  FURNACE, 

building  and  manipulating  of,  836. 
location  of,  14,  16,  93. 
pouring  from,  90,  237,  274. 
ANCHOR  PLATES, 

breaking,  37. 
for  kettles,  67. 
for  pockets,  92. 
loose,  53,  55. 
pulley,  34. 
APPRENTICES, 

mastering  the  trade,  124. 
overrating  their  ability,  8. 
term  of,  11. 
ARMS, 

cast  iron,  23. 
cracked,  39,  255. 
fly  wheel,  19. 
pulley,  30. 
wrought  iron,  23. 
BAD  CASTINGS,  5,  112,  295. 
BEER, 

in  blacking,  343. 
in  core  sand,  359. 
in  green  sand,  43. 
in  loam  sand,  348. 
BEDDING  IN, 

large  thin  patterns,  82. 
proper  methods  of,  27. 


394  I^DEX. 

BLACKING, 

carbon  in,  345. 
charcoal,  145,  165. 
blistered,  127. 
bubbles  of,  213,  221. 
for  heavy  castings,  345. 
hot  moulds,  214. 
mixtures  of,  208,  343. 
moulds,  208. 
objections  to  strong,  209 
plumbago,  or  silver  lead,  213,  345. 
BLAST,  302,  303,  307,  315. 

cooling  effects  of,  329. 
pipes,  316. 
pressure,  323. 

BLOWING  MOULDS,  42,  43,  58,  92,  114,  246. 
BOLTING, 

down  cores,  166. 
down  moulds,  148,  150,  154. 
BRICKS, 

careless  breaking  of,  167. 
fire,  128,  312. 
fire  for  moulds,  154. 
hard — objections  to,  174,  185. 
proper  laying  of,  167. 
BRICK  WORK, 

for  heavy  castings,  154. 
solid,  173. 

strengthening,  146,  168. 
CASTING, 

cylinders,  110,  190,  297,  298. 
fly  wheels,  19,  252. 
gear  wheels,  45,  50,  75,  193. 
kettles,  59,  67,  149,  299. 
pipes,  71,  88,  137,  144,  198. 
pulleys,  30,  97,  280,  293,  300. 
rolls,  176,  265,  273,  299. 
CASTINGS, 

checked,  273,  278. 

cold  shut,  42,  110,  120,  141,  164,  169,  274,  276. 


INDEX.  395 

CASTINGS, 

cope  surface  of,  284. 
good  color  on,  33,  122,  194,  344. 
heavy,  27,  85,  90,  154,  237. 
ill  proportioned,  253,  284. 
light,  29,  122. 
mending,  267. 

peeling  of,  76,  194,  214,  343. . 
smooth,  82,  158,  177,  369. 
sound,  70,  150,  261. 
specialities  in,  8. 

strained,  28,  33,  75,  78,  80,  83,  170,  207,  250,  391. 
weights  of,  370. 

CHAINS,  STRENGTH  OF,  100,  123. 
CHAPLETS, 

different  kinds  of,  230. 
rusty,  228. 

setting,  140,  142,  227,  283. 
tining  of,  329. 
varnish  for,  229,  230. 
CHILLED  IRON, 

crystallization  of,  258. 
weakness  of,  297. 
CHILLING  CASTINGS,  272,  290. 
CINDERS,  84,  173,  218,  222. 
CINDER  BEDS,  20,  57,  62,  106,  114. 
CLAMPS,  180. 

CLAY  WASH,  43,  182,  356. 
CLEANING  CASTINGS,  16,  17,  367. 
COAL  TAII,  297. 
COOLING, 

ill-proportioned  castings,  284. 
heavy  bodies  of  metals,  157,  256. 
CONTRACTION, 

of  chilled  metal,  273. 
of  castings,  112,  248,  256. 
of  fly  wheels,  24,  255. 
of  pulley,  39,  255. 
COPES, 

dropping  out  of,  63,  96,  178. 


396  INDEX. 

COPES, 

drawing  down  of,  19,  43,  235. 
ramming  up,  19,  60. 
rolling  over,  61,  99,  140,  178. 
staking,  53,  54,  60,  70. 
venting  of,  56. 
CORE  ARBORS, 

for  elbow  and  T  cores,  199. 
for  gear  segment  core,  196. 
for  quarter  turn  pipe  cores,  141. 
CORE  BARRELS, 

for  green  sand  core,  57. 
for  hay  rope  loam  cores,  206. 
CORE  BOXES, 

for  gear  wheel  arms,  52. 
for  gear  teeth,  196. 
for  hot  blast  pipes,  200. 
for  pulley  arms,  32. 
CORE  MAKERS, 

abused,  4. 

saving  labor  to,  134. 
saving  labor  of,  136. 
CORE  PRINTS, 

on  bedded  in  patterns,  84. 
on  pipe  patterns,  140. 
for  pulley  hubs,  36. 
CORE  SAND  MIXTURES,  126,  358. 
CORES, 

burnt,  123,  132,  222. 
bursting  of,  164,  170,  190. 
covering,  22,  33,  37,  54,  78. 
expansion  of,  250. 
for  forming  arms,  25,  52,  197, 
for  pulley  arms,  81. 
green  sand,  31,  203. 
hay  rope,  204,  218. 
in  heavy  castings,  362. 
oily  skinned,  126,  136. 
pasting,  72,  111,  203,  283. 
runner,  78,  90,  162. 


INDEX.  397 

CORES, 

setting  and  centering,  25,  196,  283. 
skimming,  92. 
soot  on,  126. 
thin  green  sand,  109. 
CRANES, 

height  of,  15. 

hoisting  and  lowering  of,  17. 
location  of,  14,  16. 
moving  of,  191. 
obstruction  to,  17. 
CUPOLAS, 

bottom  doors  for,  319. 

bottom  sand  for,  319. 

bottom  making  for,  320. 

breast  making  for,  320. 

breast  height  of,  308. 

bunging  up  of,  294,  315,  318,  329. 

capacities  of,  303,  314. 

charging  of,  294,  303,  325. 

daubing  up,  318. 

dirty  fuel  and  iron  in,  329. 

dropping  bottoms  of,  302,  329. 

height  of,  315. 

height  of  fuel  in,  324. 

kindling  fire  in,  324. 

lining  a,  810. 

location  of,  14. 

management  of,  316,  323. 

melting  point  in,  328. 

melting  steel  in,  272,  297. 

mixing  daubing  for,  318. 

picking  out,  318. 

shape  or  forms  of,  314. 

slag  holes  in,  312. 

slag  in,  318. 

slagging  out  of,  313. 

spout  of,  321. 

stopping  clay  for,  334. 

stopping  sticks  for,  334. 


398 

CUPOLAS, 

stopping  up  of,  331 
tapping  bars  for,  334. 
tapping  out  of,  331. 
DRAWINGS, 

for  reference,  7. 
for  shop,  14. 
DRAWING  PATTERNS, 

crown  faced,  50. 
draw  screws  for,  78. 
fine  gear  wheels,  63. 
segments,  23. 

starting  edges  of  moulds,  41. 
teeth  sideways,  196. 
DRYING, 

fuels  for,  126,  226. 

moulds  on  the  floor,  30,  157. 

moulds,  220. 

economy  in,  128,  221. 
fire  basket  for,  224. 
in  pits,  225. 
DRY  SAND, 

mixtures  of,  194,  353. 
moulds,  finishing  of,  208. 
moulding  gears  in,  193. 
EXPANSION  OF  WROUGHT  IRON  ARMS,  24. 
EXPLOSION  OF  MOULDS,  57,  152 
FACING  SAND, 

for  green  sand  copes,  liable  to  draw  down,  43,  44,  92. 
for  green  sand  gear  teeth,  76. 
using  of  green,  20,  120,  353,  363. 
gases  in  green,  56,  119. 
FEEDING, 

chilled  rolls,  274. 
rolls,  265. 
solid,  261. 
FINISHING, 

copes  overhead,  42,  141. 

green  sand  moulds,  40,  119. 

loam  and  dry  sand  moulds,  1GO,  186,  208. 


EBTDEX. 

FINS  ON  CASTINGS,  33,  34,  46,  122,  165. 
FIRE  BRICKS, 

dimensions  of,  312. 
for  over  fire-places,  128. 
FIRE  CLAY, 

for  lining  cupolas,  319. 
in  blacking,  344,  345. 
in  loam  mixtures,  347,  351. 
FIRE  SAND, 

in  core  sand  mixtures,  361. 
in  dry  sand  mixtures,  354. 
in  loam  mixtures,  347. 
FLASKS, 

bars  of,  64,  92. 
cracking  of,  178. 
false  bars  for,  178. 
handles  for,  98. 
iron,  97,  177,  202,  215. 
pins  for,  97,  181. 
planing  joints  of,  180. 
taking  care  of,  46,  95. 
trunnions  for,  93,  138,  180. 
warping  of  iron,  180. 
wooden,  97. 
FLOUR, 

in  cores,  126. 
in  dry  sand,  354. 
in  green  sand,  43,  90. 
in  loam,  350,  352. 
rye,  361. 
FLUXES, 

for  cupolas,  328. 
for  iron  ores,  289. 
FOUNDRIES, 

construction  of,  13. 

doors  of,  15. 

height  of,  15. 

jobbing,  8,  45,  301. 

planning,  17. 

tools,  taking  care  of,  8. 


400  INDEX. 

FOUNDRIES,  unhandy,  13. 
FUEL, 

anthracite  coal,  126,  290,  322,  341. 
bituminous  coal,  126,  290,  341. 
carbon  in,  307. 
charcoal,  226,  290. 
coke,  126,  £90,  322. 
combustion  of,  307,  324. 
dirt  in,  330. 
hard,  325. 
impurities  in,  322. 
kindling  wood,  324. 
quality  of,  322. 
soft,  325. 
GASES, 

allowing  escape  of,  169,  177,  221. 
compressed,  43,  234. 
confined,  88,  152,  160,  246. 
in  core,  109,  358. 
in  dry  sand,  177. 
pressure  of,  58,  81,  88,  119,  153. 
GATES. 

size  of,  109. 
skimming,  101,  122. 
whirl,  183,  274. 
GATING, 

cylinders,  190. 
improper  method  of,  90. 
ingots,  161. 
kettles,  59,  69,  150. 
pipes,  78,  141,  148. 
rolls,  183,  274. 
GAGGERS,  61,  178. 

heavy,  121. 
hidden,  9. 
setting,  19,  63,  121. 
short,  63. 
GREEN  SAND, 

cores,  31,  109,  203. 

facings,  20,  56,  83,  119,  120,  246?  363. 


INDEX. 

HOISTING, 

anchor  plates,  34,  55,  70. 

iron  crosses,  54,  146,  150,  156. 

loam  cores,  164,  188,  218. 

loam  moulds,  140,  146,  150,  190. 
HOLES  IN  CASTINGS,  2,  110,  229,  235,  261. 
IRON, 

anthracite,  292,  297. 

burnt,  295,  312,  340. 

carbon  in,  290. 

carbon,  graphite  in,  290. 

carbon,  combined  in,  290. 

carrying  hot,  2,  15. 

charcoal,  290,  292. 

chemical  analysis  of,  293. 

chilled,  272,  298. 

cold  blast,  291. 

coke,  292,  297. 

discussion  of  pig,  7. 

dull,  158,  229,  322. 

for  cylinders,  298. 

for  pulleys,  39,  300. 

for  rolls,  176,  299. 

for  sash  weights,  300. 

fluidity  of,  291. 

grades  of,  176,  251,  291,  302. 

gray,  291. 

hard,  176,  290,  297. 

hot  blast,  291. 

keys,  24,  191. 

manganese  in,  290. 

melting,  temperature  of,  292,  293. 

mixing  of,  293,  296,  298. 

mottled,  298. 

phosphorus  in,  290. 

remelting  of,  297. 

rust  on,  158,  268,  277. 

scrap,  293,  296. 

shot,  295. 

silicon  in,  290. 


402  INDEX. 

IRON, 

soft,  39,  296,  305. 
specific  gravity  of,  111. 
strong,  296,  298,  342. 
sulphur  in,  290. 
tensile  qualities  of,  257. 
testing,  39,  314. 
white,  272,  290,  300. 
JOINTS, 

air  tight,  235. 
closing  by,  140,  145,  181. 
crushing  of,  32,  34,  46,  122,  181. 
making  loam,  145,  149,  165,  183,  188. 
preserving,  41. 
LADLES, 

daubing  up,  244. 
pouring  from,  104,  108,  122. 
size  of,  243. 

LIME  FOR  PEELING  CASTINGS,  86. 
LOAM, 

bricks,  185. 

cores,  bursting  of,  164,  170. 
cores,  building  of,  142,  145,  164,  170,  174 
for  finishing  coat,  186,  347,  350. 
iron  borings  in,  352. 
mixing  of,  184,  347. 
moulds,  buckling  of,  246. 
moulds,  surface  of,  184. 
moulds,  cracked,  167. 
natural,  184. 

plates,  138,  140,  156,  165,  188. 
rings,  22,  145,  150. 
sticking  to  patterns,  160. 
strong,  185. 
MANURE, 

cow,  351. 

horse,  334,  347,  350,  361. 
MELTING, 

burnt  iron,  295,  312. 

different  grades  of  iron,  '294,  302,  304,  328 


INDEX.  403 


MELTING, 

hard  iron,  304. 

massive  lumps  of  iron,  293,  322,  327,  336. 
rapid  and  economical,  301,  323. 
shot  iron,  295. 
soft  iron,  296,  305. 
with  coke  or  coal,  322,  326. 
MOLASSES, 

in  blacking,  343. 
in  core  sand,  359. 
on  green  sand  moulds,  43,  92. 
MOULDS, 

a  well  finished,  211. 
burnt,  126,  221. 
dust  and  dirt  in,  15,  78. 
explosions  of,  57,  152. 

large  or  difficult,  5,  7,  90,  147,  154,  159,  187. 
reliable,  5. 

solid,  20,  28,  76,  80,  83,  173. 
to  tell  a  good,  120. 
MOULDERS, 

anxiety  of,  4,  237. 
cautions,  2,  90,  237. 
dignity  among,  2. 
drunken,  5. 
first  class,  10. 

judgment  of,  5,  9,  113,  159,  214. 
nervous,  5. 
self-reliant,  5. 

NAILING  MOULDS,  40,  44,  46,  92,  105,  196. 
OVENS, 

building,  125,  132. 
firing,  126,  134,  221. 
fuel  for,  126,  136,  226. 
locality  of,  14,  16,  125. 
PATTERNS, 

allowance  for  contraction  in  making,  251,  256. 
objection  to,  in  loam  working  without,  160. 
oil  on,  160. 
pulley  draw,  38. 


404  INDEX. 

PATTERNS, 

pulley  split,  280. 
sectional,  50. 
skeleton,  144,  161. 
weight  of  wooden,  391. 
PATTERN  MAKERS, 

non-harassing  of,  36,  192. 
shrink  rule,  251. 
PIG  IRON, 

cold  short,  297. 
for  flask  weights,  113. 
for  reservoirs,  238. 
in  anvil  moulds,  157. 
red  short,  297. 
shipments  of,  255. 
PITS, 

drying  in,  225. 
for  damp  floors,  17. 
location  of,  14,  16. 
POURING, 

basins,  90,  92,  104,  162,  242,  290. 
chilled  castings,  274,  276. 
cylinders,  110,  190. 
dull  iron,  25,  109,  158,  301. 
fast,  43,  109,  158,  183,  274,  277. 
heavy  castings,  106,  158,  237,  370. 
hot  iron,  109,  123,  229,  278,  301. 
kettles  68,  150. 
open  sand  plates,  88. 
pipes,  141,  148. 
rolls,  183,  274,  304. 
top  and  bottom,  162,  164,  218,  235. 
through  center  cores,  33. 
PRESSURE  OF  MOLTEN  IRON, 

upon  contracting  chilled  shells,  273,  275. 
upon  green  sand  moulds,  28,  33,  82,  118. 
upon  loam  moulds,  160,  173,  216. 
upon  cores,  164,  170,  207. 
PRICKERS  ON  LOAM  PLATES,  60,  87,  138,  141,  188. 
RAMMING,  heavy  or  hard,  5,  27,  58,  75,  117,  221,  247. 


IKDEX.  '405 

RAMMING, 

light,  5,  75,  247. 

up  loam  moulds,  148,  150,  152,  154,  174. 
RISERS, 

air  tight,  234,  246. 
covering,  43. 
flow  off,  101,  148. 
open,  234. 
weighting,  43. 
RODDING  MOULDS,  92,  182. 
ROLLING  OVER  PATTERNS,  29,  77. 
ROSIN, 

for  venting,  359. 
in  cores,  359,  360. 
on  splitting  plates,  273. 
SAND, 

bank,  246,  352,  355,  360. 
burnt,  65,  182,  349. 
fire,  347,  354,  361. 
grades  of,  17. 

lake,  246,  348,  352,  355,  360. 
sharp,  86,  92,  185,  246,  352. 
weight  of  cubic  foot  of,  100. 

SCABBING  OF  MOULDS,  81,  118,  161,  185,  245,  345,  349,  353. 
SCREWS,  Draw,  80. 
SEA  COAL, 

in  dry  sand,  354. 
in  green  sand,  364. 
in  loam  sand,  349. 
in  stopping  clay,  334. 
SEGMENTS, 

of  cores,  22,  78. 

of  patterns,  19,  23,  30,  45,  50,  80,  193. 
SHEAVES,  MOULDING  OF,  50. 
SHRINKAGE, 

of  molten  iron,  112,  260. 
variations  in,  251,  256. 
SMOKE, 

in  shops,  15. 
on  cores,  126. 


406  IKDEX. 

SPINDLES, 

arms  for,  190. 

bottom  center  for,  165,  19£ 
holders,  188. 
hollow,  53,  192. 
tapering,  192. 
top  center  for,  191. 
STAKING  MOULDS,  31,  60. 
STEAM, 

in  sand,  42,  56,  109,  117. 
in  shops.  15. 
pressure  of,  81,  119,  220. 
STRAW, 

bands  for  cores,  200. 
rope  making,  207. 
STRAIGHT-EDGES, 

leveling  flasks  with,  274. 
making  bed  with,  28,  82. 
saving  labor  of,  78. 
testing  castings  with,  75. 
SWEEPS, 

advantage  of,  in  loam  work,  160. 
under,  187. 
SWEEPING, 

crooked  pipes,  137. 
elbow  and  branch  pipes,  71. 
fly  wheels,  19. 
gear  wheels,  45,  50. 
kettles,  59,  67,  151. 
loam  cores,  187,  204. 
pots,  215. 
pulleys,  30. 

quarter  turn  pipes,  144. 
rolls,  176. 

thickness  on  moulds  and  cores,  72,  142,  149. 
TAPPING  HOLE, 

choking  of,  92,  332. 
for  cupolas,  320,  331. 
for  reservoirs,  240. 
of  air  furnaces,  10,  340. 


INDEX.  '407 

TEMPERATURES, 

of  sand,  42,  220,  353. 
of  gases,  153,  173,  228. 
of  molten  iron,  190,  260,  262,  274,  278. 
TUYERES, 

alarm,  309. 
blind,  310. 
height  of,  308. 
round,  size  of,  316. 
shapes  of,  307. 
VENTS, 

cold,  153. 

explosion  of,  57,  152. 
lighting  of,  57,  153. 
VENTING, 

cores,  200,  222,  358. 

green  sand  moulds,  20,  46,  56,  81,  93,  118,  120. 
gear  teeth,  46,  76. 
kettles,  152. 

loam  and  dry  sand  moulds,  122,  169,  172,  177. 
VENT  WIRES,  58,  81,  88,  92,  117,  173. 
VITRIOL  TUBS,  17,  367. 
WATER, 

ill  use  of,  108. 
in  shop  floors,  17. 
sewerage  of,  114. 
WEDGING, 

bricks,  138. 
clamps,  181. 

down  cope  bars,  49,  70.  97. 
down  runner  boxes,  108. 
WEIGHTING  DOWN, 

copes,  33,  70,  112. 
crooked  castings,  285. 
WHEELS, 

cast  in  halves,  25,  279. 
checked  car,  274. 
grooved  friction,  50. 
splitting  hubs  of,  255. 
WOKE,  HEAVY,  15, 17. 


408  INDEX. 

WORK, 

jobbing,  45,  95,  116,  301. 
light,  17. 

locality  for  loam,  16. 
open  sand,  33,  36,  86,  157. 


INDEX  TO   ADVERTISERS. 


PAGE. 

DIXON,  JOSEPH,  CRUCIBLE  COMPANY — DIXON'S  PLUMBAGO  BLACK- 
ENING, ETC , i 

MONK,  CHAS. — MONK'S  CELEBRATED  MOLDERS'  TOOLS iii 

OBERMAYER,  S.,  FOUNDRY  SUPPLY  MFG.  Co. — FOUNDRY  FACINGS.,  iv 

SMITH  &  SAYRE  MFG.  Co. — PATENT  CUPOLA  AND  BLOWER i 

WHITEHEAD  BROS. — MOLDING  SAND,  FOUNDRY  FACINGS,  ETC iii 

WlLBRAHAM   BROS. — THE  BAKER  ROTARY  PRESSURE  BLOWER . .     .  .     11 

WILEY,  JOHN,  &  SONS — WEST'S  FOUNDRY  PRACTICE,  ETC v 


THE  MACKENZIE 

PATENT  CUPOLA  AND  BLOWER. 

S^end  for  Circxilar1  to 

SMITH  &  SAYRE  MFG.  CO.,  Proprietors,  245  Broadway,  N.  Y. 

This  Cupola  has  made  a  great  revolution  in  melting  iron.  It  differs  from 
all  others  in  having  a  CONTINUOUS  TUYERE,  or  in  other  worus,  the  blast 
enters  the  fuel  at  all  prints.  Above  one  ton  capacity  per  hour,  they  are 
made  oval  in  form.  This  brings  tne  blast  to  the  center  of  the  furnace  with 
the  least  resistance  and  smallest  possible  amount  of  power,  and  in  combina- 
tion with  the  continuous  Tuyere  causes  complete  diffusion  ol  the  air  through- 
out the  furnace,  and  uniform  temperature,  melting  ten  or  fifteen  tons  an 
hour  with  the  pressure  of  blast  required  to  melt  two  or  three  tons  in  an  or- 
dinary Cupola,  It  also  enables  us  to  save  very_  largely  in  time  and  fuel,  the 
experience  of  our  custome  a  showing  a  gain  of  twenty-five  to  fifty  per  cent, 
in  time,  and  twenty  five  to  forty  percent,  fuel  over  the  ordinary  Cupola,  and 
a  BETTER  QUALIPY  OF  CASTING,  especially  in  light  work.  This  is  due  to  the 
thorough  diffusion  of  the  air  and  more  perfect  combustion,  extracting  less 
carbon  from  the  iron,  making  a 
softer  and  tougher  casting. 

We  manufacture  these  Cupolas 
of  any  desired  capacity,  numbered 
from  I  to  20,  inclusive,  the  num- 
bers indicating  the  melting  capac- 
ities in  TONS  PER'HOUR—  No.  1,  one 
ton  ;  No,  2,  two  tons  ;  No.  3,  three 
tons  per  hour,  and  so  on  up  to  15. 
or  29  tons.  We  have  improved 
the  construction  of  these  Cupolas 
in  every  way,  have  increased 
their  strength  and  durability,  and 
Bought  to  make  them  as  conven- 
ient for  working  and  repairs  as  our 
own  and  the  experience  of  our 
customers  could  suggest. 

HOUSE     ESTABLISHED     1S27. 


DixoN'S 

PLUMBAGO  BLACKENING 

OR 

BLACK  LEAD  FACING, 


AND 


Founders'  Core  Wash. 


It  -will  pay  you  to  -write  for  Circular.      Correspondence  promptly 

answered. 


JOSEPH   DIXON   CRUCIBLE   COMPANY, 

JERSEY  CITY,  N.  J..  U.S.A. 


THE  BAKER 
ROTARY  PRESSURE  BLOWER, 


Blower  arranged 
with  engine  on  same 
base  plate.  Makes  a 
very  complete  self- 
contained  machine, 
dispensing  with  all 
belts,  shafting,  etc. 


Baker  Pressure  Blower 

with 
Engine  Attached. 


The  Best  Blower  for  Foundry  Practice. 


Baker  Pressure  Blowe  r 
Driven  by  Belt. 

But  one  belt  required,  Takes  less  power 
to  do  the  same 
work  than  any  other 
Blower  made. 


For  further  information  apply  to 

WILBRAHAM    BROS., 

2320  Frankford  Avenue,        PHILADELPHIA,  U.  S.  A. 


iii 


'?  HI!  BUB  ft  TED  101  TICK'  TOOK 
o  ULlilitllllJill  JUUJiUJma  lUUlio. 


Finishing  Trowel,  No.  I.  Square  Trowels. 

The  above  are  representations  of  a  few  selected  cuts.    For  full  de- 
scriptive price-lists,  address 

CHAS.  MONK,  190  16th  St.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

WHITEHEAD  BROTHERS, 

No.    517   WEST    15th  STREET, 

NEW    YORK, 
Shippers  of  all  kinds  of 

MOLDING  SAND, 

FIRE  SAND, 

AND  FIRE  CLAY. 

Manufacturers  of  and  Dealers  in 

FOUNDRY    FACINGS 

AND 


iv 

THE  LARGEST  FACING  MILLS  IN  THE  WORLD;  CAPACITY, 
650  BARRELS  PER  DAY. 


EAGLE  FACING  MILLS, 

MANUFACTURERS  OF  AND  DEALERS  IN  ALL  KINDS  OF 

FOUNDRY  FACINGS, 

BLACKINGS  AND  FOUNDRY  SUPPLIES, 

PLUMBAGO  OR  BLACK  LEAD 

FOR    ALL    PURPOSES, 

HEAVY   MACHINERY 

AND 

FINE  STOVE  PLATE  FACINGS 

A     SPECIALTY.  ' 


ALSO    SHIPPERS    OF  THE   CELEBRATED 

CINCINNATI    MOLDING  SANDS 

For  Stove   Plate,  Heavy  and    Light  Machinery,  Agricultural  and 
Brass  "Work. 


AGENTS   FOR 

MONK'S  CELEBRATED   MOLDERS'   TOOLS. 


Send    for  Illustrated   Catalogue   and    Price    List.       No   charge   for 

Samples. 

S.  OBERMAYER  FODNDRY  SUPPLY  MAN'F'G  CO, 

CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  U.S.A. 


V 

IN  PRESS— To  be  Issued  Shortly. 

WESTS    FOUNDRY    PRACTICE. 

VOLUME     SECOND- 

Being  a  Practical  Treatise  on  Molding,  discussing  the 
question  of  Economy  in  Casting,  and  the  arrangement 
of  a  Foundry  in  regard  to  rapid  work.  Treating  of 
Cupolas,  Methods  of  Firing,  best  means  of  securing 
Perfect  and  Sound  Castings,  etc.  Being  a  continu- 
ation of  Yol.  I.  on  this  subject,  and  dealing  with  a 
class  of  work  requiring  more  skill  and  greater  care. 
By  Thomas  D.  West.  With  numerous  illustrations. 
12mo,  cloth, $2.50 

NEW  WORKS  NOW  READY  OR   IN  PREPARATION. 

A  TREATISE  ON  TOOTHED  GEARING.  Containing  complete 
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tific Schools,  etc.  With  many  plates.  By  J.  Howard  Cromwell. 

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STATIONARY  STEAM  ENGINES.  Especially  adapted  to  Elec- 
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STEAM  ENGINE  CATECHISM.  A  series  of  thoroughly  practical 
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